Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-04-27 00:00:00

CONSERVATIVE MEETING;'
The friends and supporters of Messrs. Egerton and Legh
held their meeting in the Amphitheatre at half-past 12 o'clock
yesterday. The greater part of the building was tolerably
well filled before the proceedings began, but there was, at
least, at that period very little of the crowding which usually
is seen at a political meeting in the Amphitheatre. Among
those on the platform were---Messrs. George Booker, John
Myers, Alfred Castellaine, J. Fisher, Alderman Gardner,
Alderman Robertson, Alderman Thomas Bold, J. 0.
Cooper, John Hand, Wagstaff, J. Parker, J. C. Livingstone,
Nickson, Priest, Blain, Bernard Hall, Gibbeson, Thomas
Clarke, Whitehead, J. B. Leatherbarrow, J. R. Cooper,
Hall, Alexander Shand, J. R. Shaw; Crosthwaite, J. B.
Spence, Holmes, Hayman, H. Rae, Hurry, Thomas E.
Moss, T. B. Horsfall, Christopher Bushell, G. 11. Hors-
fall, Wm. Cleaver, Alderman Bennett, James Tyrer, John
Cooper, James llfolme, J. Watham, C. Chalk, J. Arkle,
Wilson Forster, S. R. Graves, Jos. Booker, C. S. Parker,
Preston ; J.- Riolley..
The Amphitheatre boxes were hung in front with ban-
ners, bearing such inscriptions as, "-No Bright, or Demo-
cratic Reform ;" " No Liberalism for the sake of Place ;"
" The Queen, the Altar, and the Constitution ;" " Derby,
and Constitutional Reform," &c., &c.
When the candidates entered the building, and appeared
on the platform, accompanied by Mr. Francis Shand, and
several other gentlemen, they were received with loud bursts
of cheering.
Mr. Thomas E. Moss said : Brother electors, and gentle-
men, this is indeed a cheering scene, and proves that there
is a strong link between the commercial interests of this
great town and the agricultural interests of South Lanca-
shire. (Cheers.) Allow me to propose to you a chairman
to preside over this day's proceedings. I give you a well-
known name—the name of a genuine unflinching Conser-
vative, Frank Shand. (Great cheering.)
The motion was carried by acclamation, and the chair
taken by Mr. Shand.
Mr.' Shand : You are met, gentlemen, on this occasion,
to consider an object as momentous as any that can be sub-
mitted to us at the present moment. The selection of 'two
fit and proper parties to represent the southern divisiun of
this great county in parliament. (Applause.)
A Voice : Three cheers for John Bright.
Mr. Shand : I say momentous, not only as regards the
welfare of our locality, but as it affects the great interests of
our common country. It is especially at the present
moment momentous, when we consider the fearful crisis
which seems to impend over the European affairs. In that
I particularly claim the support of this country to maintain
the administration of Lord Derby. (Applause.) For I
say, in him alone, I find that political chief, who can at this
moment, who is in a position at this moment to
maintain the government effectively for the, country.
(Applause.) The only chief who can at this moment keep
a government of strength and solidity. One that shall
impress the foreign powers with an assurance of the policy
which he is prepared to carry out. (Applause.) 'Then
gentlemen, I think it' is time that this country should
shake itself up and arouse itself to some independent
action, and not submit, as it has hitherto done, to, a despotic
power which emanates from NewalPs buildings, Manches•
ter. lam not going. to submit to that which now pretends'
to issue a kind of universal law. You are not prepared,
I am sure, once more to bow the knee to Mr. Cheetham.
You are surely not prepared to accept the ballot box in
any way, either from Mr. Cheetham or others. [Cries
of "No, no, and yes, yes." -Here a scene of dis-
order took place in he pit, and cries of "Put
him "out," were heard from all quarters.] When
order was restored, Mr. Shand continued to say : I do not
expect, for one moment, that all will agree with me, and
therefore I should be sorry to try to restrain any gentleman
who may choose to express his opinions. But, gentlemen,
lam not prepared to support Mr. Cheetham, bearing,
as he does, the ballot-box. (Hear, hear.) Neither
am I prepared to see the successor of that inestimable
gentleman (Mr. Brown)—for estimable we call him, though
differing with him—l am not prepared to see his successor
even in the humble person of Heywood, who has been car-
ried to Newall-street Buildings, and there dipped in the dark
waters of their streets, and come out, stulted as he was, with
the ballot-box. (Applause.) Why, any gentleman
who has heard him express his private sentiments,
will observe, in all he says, a denial of
the virtue of the ballot-box, or its practical ap-
plication. You, therefore, could seriously never think of
returning such men as these. What use would they be ?
They would be no use in the administration of Lord John
Russell, who detests the ballot, and they would be same in-
the administration of Lord Palmerston, who is of the
same opinion. They would do nothing except join
Mr. Bright for universal suffrage, and turn out once
a year with the honourable Mr. Berkeley on his
annual division. Having come to this point it is well that
you should have some gentlemen uninfected with the mys-
tification of the last, untrammelled with either party, and
uncontrolled in any way ; men who will put their hands
upon their hearts, and be able to tell you the sentiments
which beat there, and tell you they are prepared
fully to maintain those principles. (Applause.) I will at
once introduce to you the Hon. Mr. Algernon Egerton.
Mr. Egerton came forward, and was- received with
enthusiastic applause. He said : Mr. Chairman and
Gentlemen, in rising for the first time in my life to address
a vast' assemblage like the present, in one of the greatest
and worthiest cities of the empire, I may well feel, I think,
some diffidence in my power, to do justice to the.principles
for which I ask your support. I trust that you will consider
the principles, and not the person who addresses you.
(Cheers.) I know that in coming to Liverpool I seek to
succeed in the representation of the southern division of
this county, a gentleman who, although I differ from him in
politics, yet has a very just claim upon the consideration of
his fellow-citizens here, and upon the constituency of
South Lancashire generally. , (Hear, hear.) His princely
liberality must have endeared him to you, and the
way in which he represented the seperate interests of this
county, have been such as did him great credit among you,
I have no doubt. (Hear, hear.) But, gentlemen, I observe
in the report of the meeting of our opponents here, almost
the first thing which was said by the chairman, Mr. Brown,
was an accusation of presumption against me in coming
forward at all to represent the county ; and with your leave,
before I go into detail upon the principles for which I stand
up here, I will say a few words with regard to his accusa-
tion. (Cheers.) Now it might be presumption in one who
has not yet arrived, perhaps, at middle life, like myself, to
come forward and place himself before so large a constitu-
ency as this; but before I consented to stand for
South Lancashire, I took care that I should
have a very general expression of feeling from
various parts of the county ; and when 1 was
convinced that it was a general feeling which requested me
to stand there, I thought it my duty to come forward, and,
thinking so, I may promise that, what energies or any small
abilities I may possess will, if I am elected, be at the
service of this great constituency. (Hear, hear, and cheers.)
I will now proceed to give you my idea of what is meant by
the professions I have put forward to my supporters as
Conservative principles. (Hear, hear.) I am an inde-
pendent supporter of Lord Derby's Government. (Loud
cheers.) Now with regard to Conservative principles, I
think they may be very shortly defined, as an attachment to
the Throne, to the Queen, and to the representative insti-
tutions, and the general constitution of our country.
(Cheers.) I know that Mr. Bright and others have asked,
What is this constitution I hear so much about ?"
He has said, " I have never seen it ;" and it is
a favourite remark, Among the Radicals, that they
have never seen the constitution. But lam well aware
that the constitution under which we live is not one of the
" cut-and-dry" measures brought forward by theorists.
(Hear, hear.) It has grown up for at least 200 or 300
years. Its laws are well known by those who have to
administer them, and they are calculated for the benefit and
the advantage of the country. (Hear, hear. One principal
feature of that constitution is, that interests shall be
represented, and not mere numbers. By interests,
I mean that the landed interest, the commercial interest,
the manufacturing interest, and also the working-man's
interest, should be represented in tile House of
Commons (hear, hear, and cheers), but represented in such a
manner that they should balance each other, and that no
one interest should be able to sweep the others from the
consideration of the country. (Hear, hear.) Such being
one of the principles of our constitution, I say
that the new-fangled panacea which has been found
to cure all our ills, ought never to become the law of this
country. I allude to universal suffrage and the ballot.
(Groans,) Now, with regard to universal suffrage, I have
no hesitation whatever in saying that it is a failure wher-
ever it has been tried. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) I ask
you if there is more liberty of the subject in America than
here ? (No, no.) That is the great country in which uni-
versal suffrage has been tried, and there it has been pro-
nounced a failure by no less an authority than the President
of the Republic himself, Mr. Buchanan. (Hear, hear.)
He said himself that the country is fast verging into the
state in which government resolves itself into anarchy.
(Hear, hear.) That is the result, gentlemen, of universal
suffrage in a country where the race of people has come
off the same stock as ourselves. I therefore think
that if there is a chance in the next session, as I think there
is, of the proposed Reform wearing the shape of a revolu-
tionary Reform, it is our duty here to stand up, and to
take such measures, so far as this county is concerned, as
shall prevent it becoming so. (Hear, hear.) Now, with
regard to the Derby government, I have said that I will
give an independent support to that government. (Cheers.)
One of the principal reasons which influences me in giving
that support is, that I think it is the strongest government
which is possible under the present state of affairs. (Hear,
hear, and cheers.) We all know that the House of Com-
mons is split into various factions, under different leaders,
and some under no leaders at all. (Laughter.) But the
strongest party in the 1/018c j,4 that which at present