The Sun.
London, England, 1864-12-09 00:00:00

Mr Seymour Fitzgerald, M.P„ on Public
Matters.

HORSHAM, Thursday.
The Horsham Christmas Cattle Show took place
yesterday, and was generally considered the best
that has been held. At the dinner, in the afternoon,

the chair was taken, as usnal, by Mr Seymour Fitz•
geral, M.P., and amongst the guests were Mr Cave,
M.P., Sir P. Burrell, M,P., Major Aldridge, Mr
sanctuary, the Rev. S. Hodgson (the vicar), the
Rev. F. Vincent, Mr G. Fitzgerald, Mr C. S.

Dickens, &c.
The usual loyal and constitutional toasts having
been given,
Major ALDRIDGE proposed "The Health of the
Members for the rape of Bramber, Mr Cave and Sir

F. Burrell," expressing his regret at the unavoid-
able absence of the members for the western divi-
sion, Captain Wyndham and Colonel Barttelot.
The toast was acknowledged by Mr Cave and Sir
P. Burrell.

Mr CAVE then proposed " The Health of the
Chairman," which was received with great enthu.

siasm.

Mr FITZGERALD, when the cheering had subsided,
said—l should be indeed insensible if I did not feel

deeply the kind way in which you have received my

health. This is, I think, the tenth or eleventh time
that from this place I have had to return thanks for

the same compliment. I have not had the privilege
and advantage of spending my summer, autumn,

and winter months amongst my neighbours and
friends; but I am certain from what has been said to
me that my family and myself have your sympathy,
as shown upon an occasion like this, when, notwith-
standing my inability to perform my duties as a

neighbour and friend, you receive me in that kindly

manner which does most unaffectedly touch me

in my tenderest affections. (Cheers.) As it is so
long since I had the opportunity of meeting yon, I

must trespass on your attention, but do not intend

doing so at any great length. I have always found
a great difficulty in my communications with this
_ _

borough of Horsham. It is in itself a peculiar—one
may almost say a model borough. The communica•
tions between the members of this constituency and
their representatives are always few and far be.

tween. I believe I can safely say that which no

other member of that Government, or almost any
other Government could say, that during the whole
of the time I was in office, with the exception of a
small application for one little favour, I never was
asked for a single piece of patronage by any elec.
tor of Horsham, or by any one connected with any
elector of Horsham. (Cheers.) If you take any
borough, great or small, throughout the length and

breadth of the land, I do not believe there is any

other member of the House of Commons who can

make the same declaration. The infrequency of corn

munication between a member and his constituents

tends unfavourably towards the member to a cer
tain Extent, and it affects me in this way. This is
almost the only great public meeting that can take
place in this borough. Of course I am perfectly
aware that if I were merely to talk on farming topics
those around me would think that I was not per.
forming my duty, and was not doing that which
was fairly expected of me at a meeting like this.
Still, politics are forbidden, and I can only attempt
to perform my duty in this way, to avoid anything in
the nature of controversial politics, and speak only
on those public questions which are interesting alike
to both sides of the house, (Hear.) Now, some of
the questions that have come before Parliament this
year are of great interest and importance, affect-
ing both our foreign relations and our domestic lee
gislation. It has often been said to me that the
party with whom I act have done wrong in moot-
ing questions affecting perhaps our relations with
foreign countries—probably on questions affecting
our domestic interests—when we were not likely to
succeed. Now, permit me to say this—and it is an
observation which I may fairly make, both fe those
who have supported me and to those who are op-
posed to me—that the position of those who are in op.
position is as responsible a position, and one entailing
as high duties as those which fall upon men possess-
ing the confidence of the Crown and discharging the
highest functions of the State, because there are al-
ways two that must affect any man who takes a pro•
minent part in the discussion of public questions
in the House-of Commons. He must, on the
one hand, as far as he can, give Effect to his
own convictions—convictions that he has any
nounced, that he has never attempted to conceal,
which are patent to those who have sent him to
the House of Commons, in which to a certain ex-
tent, they are supposed to participate, toad which, if
his opinions and convictions are worth anything, he
is bound as an honest man to endeavour to carry out.
But on the other hand, in the present state of the
country and of public opinion, and of the House of
Commons, this consideration must also weigh with
him,—whether it is always worth while to give
effect to those distinct convictions, seeing that such
a course may lead to a complication in public
affairs ? And, therefore, although he may still
honestly maintain his own opinions—although he
may still, to a certain extent, honestly and fears
lusty express them—he may often not desire to
bring them to the test of a divisionin the House of
Commons ; because there always arises this great
question, which the Duke of Wellington proposed
to himself and his colleagues—How is the Queen's
Government to be carried on, (Hear, hear.) Now
I do hold, that while upon great and important
questions it is the bounden duty of every honest
man, who is a member of the Opposition, to give
effect to the principles which he feels deeply and
knows to be right,—l think there are often occasions
on which a high regard to great public interests may
load him not to pursue those questions to a serious
issue, and may induce him rather to give support
to the Government, although on general questions
he may differ from them. (Hear, bear.) I have
said that there are occasions when the convictions
of men are so deep, and the principles involved are
so serious, that although it may not be possible for
them to obtain a majority in the House of Corn.
irons, yet looking to the character of the principles
which they support—looking to the nature of the
interests involved—and looking more to the effect
which discussion, debate, and a sifting of all the
circumstances and arguments may have on the pub-
lic mind—it is of the utmost importance that an
Opposition, although they may not achieve success,
should bring these great questions to an issue in the
House of Commons. (Cheers.) Now lam not
going to enter at any length into the Danish quess
Lon. If you were as sick and as weary of the
name of Denmark as I have been for many months,
when night after night we had to extract informa-
tion, to inquire as to the policy of the Government,
to keep the matter constantly before the House, you
would desire use to say nothing at all upon the sub.
jcct. I. am not going to enter into the merits of the
cause, but I wish to say a few words in order to
justify the conduct which I, as one of those prin-
cipally concerned in the matter, took 7,'itti reference
to the Danish question in the IT:onse of Commons.
(Hear.) I have said elsewtoere what I now repeat.
The question we deci':,ed upon placing before the
House was not tile question whether it was desira-
ble to interfere between Denmark and Germany or
not. There is no doctrine that has been more con.
atantly held by the leaders of the Conservative
party—there is none which I myself have for years
more consistently advocated and urged. It was dig-
nified by the eloquence of Sir R. Peel. It received in
those days the full support of Mr Gladstone. There
hAS been no doctrine that has been more conspicuously
on element of Conservative policy than this principle,
that we should not interfere in the domestic affairs
of our neighbours, and that we should hold the
tioetrine of what is called nonintervention. I claim
for the Conservative party that this doctrine was put
forward by them. I will not say first put forward,
because it was ftrst, pot forward by the illustrious
Lozd Csstlereavi ; by:t in later
claim it for r_ee. Ceeeeroetiee party, lact.,,st
for years before it ITAS FrilrCri 117 nay other Party
the State it was one of the leading featnrea of
their political creed. (Cheers.) But the plea-
tion we desired to raise before the House of
Commons was this—Whether the conduct pur-
sued by England was such as had fairly led the
Danes to expect assistance, and had led the rest
of the world to expect that we should inter-
fere? (Hear.) I will not enter into the question