The Sun.
London, England, 1852-07-15 00:00:00

ELECTION INTELLIGENCE.

BUCKINGHAMSHIRE.

MR. DISRAELI AND HIS CONSTITUENTS.
NEWPORT PAGNELL, JULY 14.—Mr. Dupre and Mr.
Disraeli dined this afternoon with a numerous body of
their constituents, comprising the leading farmers and
many of the gentry and clergy in the neighbourhood.
Covers were laid at the Anchor Hotel for nearly 200,
and they were all occupied. A sumptuous dinner was
disposed of, and afterwards the Chairmain, Mr. GREAYES,
a tenant farmer, gave the usual loyal toasts. He then
gave " Her Majesty's Ministers."—(Cheers.)
Mr. DISRAELI was received with great applause on
rising to respond. He said—As lam the only one of
her Majesty's Ministers who is present on this occasion,
you will permit me to return you thanks, on their part,
for the manner in which you have received the toast
of the chairman. Her Majesty's Ministers, gentlemen,
at the present moment are before the country; yet I
can say, on their part, with the utmost sincerity, that
they are not afraid of the verdict that will be given by
the country.—(Loud cheers.) Fortified by that which
they believe will be the verdict of the nation, it will be
their duty, to the utmost of their power, to propose
measures to Parliament which they believe are neces-
sary to promote the good of all classes of the coramnity.
—(Cheers.) And in doing so, gentlemen, you may
confidently rely that they will not forget the pledges
they have given nor the promises they have made to the
agricultural interest of the country.—(Loud cheers.)
The CHAIRMAN followed with the toast, " Our Con-
servative candidates."
Mr. DUPRE made a speech in reply.
Mr. DISRAELI agoßn rose, and was interrupted for a
few minutes by a disorderly man outside, who was
making a speech to those who could not get into the
room. He proceeded—lt becomes me, Mr. Chairman
and gentlemen—
The CHAIRMAN (to the disorderly man)—Hold your
tongue, Sir, or you'll be put into the treadmill.
Mr. DISRAELI—I hops that (the treadmill) is not the
of the candidates who oppose us.--(Loud laughter.)
I rfipear before you to-day, as also my Hon. Friend, as
a candidate for your suffrages, and I feel sensibly the
difference in my present position at the present moment,
at this conjuncture, from what it was when I had the
honour, in this room, of addressing you on the last oc-
casion, becadse on that occasion I Was sustained by
what I feel to be the greatest honour a gentleman can
attain, that of being your representative.—(Applause.)
Gentlemen, I should be perfectly
to leave our
cause to the plea just put forward by my late colleague
and able friend, Mr. Duet&
put forth with a power and
eloquence which on more than one occesioe he has shown
in this county—an eloquence which is only faulty in this re-
spect, namely, that it is not so extended as I could wish, for
often I have advised my Hon. Friend that in the House
of Commons I think he would bo a distinguished ores-
ment.—(Hear,
11
e ',ar.) Gentlemen, my Hon. Friend has
spoken c,f tne candidates re may have to onoounter—of
one gentleman, at least, who, if there be anything of that
shivering we hear so :nach of in the present day, would
be afraid to meet us in a free and open field, and that is
Dr. L'ele.—(Lausahter,) But Ido not feel the harmless-
ness of that individual which my Hon. Friend has ex-
pressed;'for pray remember that Dr. Lee has pat out a
programme of :principles poseeesing many popular
features, and he has enlieted on his side the whole of the
rair sex, (Loud laughter)—and as far as that point is
concerned, if there is to be any alteration in the suffrage,
I shall adopt the plan of Dr. Lee, anl I trust ell hie
friends on that head will give me their second votes.—
(Lauehter.) Gentlemen, when I addressed you lest, as
your Member; in ttaie room, you will remember whet
was then the position of the Opposition u that day. It
ttirs one of very great difficulty. The change of 1846
was a change of the most remarkable description. I was,
among_ others opposed to that change. I thought the
risk of that change was too great under the einem-
stances—too great for this country to incur. I thou ht
the disturbing circumstances, so far as the, Agricultural
interest was concerned, which that change would
duce, were rsot a matter of theory; pro-
that they were
able, and t..nat no ore had a right to incuerd-tithae:ordeaspoenebility of voting for a charge, so unpreea
in-
secure, and eo inconsistent—(Hear, hear, and cheers)—
and I must say, gentlemen, that every subsecinent ses-
sion of Parliament has perfectly fortified the opinion I
then formed.—(Cheers.) I knew—all knew the effect of
that change upon our position. We all knew that we
should have very great difficulty to regain the position
we had lost. At all times it is difficult to regain a posi-
ti ma which is forfeited, and I stated years ago my indi-
vidual conviction of that sound policy which it was your
duty to fellow. But, gentlemen, your opponents were
ever anxious that yen should pursue a false policy. They
have always arid, " Ask only for that which it is impos-
sible to get, and then you will occupy a sensible posi-
tion."—(Laughter.) But, gentlemen, we occupy safe
ground by demanding that which is truly practicable,
instead of following the tactics of an Opposition, which
would in the precipitancy of their strong convictions
knock their brains against the first opposing wall they
meet.—(Laughter.) Gentlemen, I told you to form your
views a little more deep than foolish. I said, " There
is great agriculearal distress in consequence of a change
in the law; your opponents taunt you when you seek to
go hack to that law, and they are all-sufficient in their
opposition. I want you to acertain what is the cause of
your suffaring, and, if possible, to accept the new policy,
and to consider what recompense you can find in other
measures."—(Hear.) Gentlemen, that was tho advice
I presumed to give, and it is a question most interesting
to the numerous and most influential body assembled
here to-day. I say—what is the reason the English pro-
ducer, the English occupier of land, cannot compete
with the foreign producer or occupier of land?—(Loud
cries of " Hear, hear.") I have always said, and I
don't know that I have ever heard any argument of an
intelligent opponent which I really could refer to as in
any way conclusive against it—l have always said, the
mason is, " that the English producer is under a system
of taxation—(Loud cheers)-3 system which is in ge-
neral applied to himself—which is in particular applied
to the class to which he belongs—entailing upon him
burdens which do not allow him to run the race on
equal terms with the others."—(Loud cheers.) That is
what. I said. And gentlemen, I have also said that the
protectionist system was not to be justified unless you
e3ll show these circumstances exist.—(Hear, hear.)
And I still believe these circumstances do exist in
this country, however much they may be modified.
and that the principle of protection is sound—that in a
society which is artificial, in which there exists a finan-
cial system so complicated as oar own, it was much
better to adhere to compensating
c, arrangements for the
protection of the cultivators of the soil than that you
should madly leave him an unequal competitor with the
foreigner.—(Cheers.) And this principle, I say, is at
all
times to be modified according to existing circumstances,
But, gentlemen, the protective principle was not
only t;
sound one, but it was a principle to the advantage
of
the country, and the only principle upon which our
present system of finance could be vindicated. you
could not vindicate a system that rested individually and
mainly upon the cultivators of the soil, unless in its
operation it gave compensatory relief to those whom it
placed under particular restrictions. Well, I say, gen-
tlemen, if the country has chosen to abrogate that sys-
tem, and if the majority of the people of this country
are of opinion it would be unwise to recur to it, I say
we must seek by other means—(Cheers)—and in ano-
ther direction—(Repeated cheers)---to place the cultiva-
tors of the soil in a fair and just position.—(Loud
cheers.) Now, gentlemen, that is all I have ever said.
It is what lam nerfectly ready to maintain. I said
it in opposition, as your Member; and I say now, a. 7.
a Minister of the Crown, I am perfectly pr te
pared to advise her Majesty to carry it out.—(Great
cheering.) Now, gentlemen, it has sometimes been said
that the policy I wish to pursue has been of but limited
compass—that it referred only to the burdens entailed
upon land by our system of unfair taxation. Well, gen_
tlemen, in the first place, if there are any particular bur-
dens on one class which the rest of society do not bear,
I say, as a matter of principle, that there ought to bo re-
dress.—(Hear, hear.) But I utterly deny that at any time
I have told you that proper measures of redress were
solely or wholly to be got by any advantage which might
arise from the adjustment of particular burdens entailed
by local taxation. Three years ago, in this room, I ad-
vised you to take that particular grievance into your con-
sideration, and to work it out, because your claim for re-
dress was founded upon justice.—(Yes, yes.) And be-
cauao justice would be sanctioned by the great body of
the country.—(Cheers.) And what has happened since
I
thus advised you proves that my advice was a good
many
one, for gentlemen in the House of Commons who
did not r
the motionse I resentagricultural constituencies voted for
they could brought forward on the subject, because
not withhold their approval of what had the
hip E sanction
(Cheers.) Bat, gentleman, f national justice for its support.—
getnhtlemen, I have not told you—l do
not tell yoesseew_
that this would give you a sufficient,
or that fieis wo)uldlg:ve you 'the chief means of redress.
—(Hear, hear.
no. It is in reviewing—it is in
adjusting—the whole system of national taxation ;it is
upon a just basis that the pro-
in placing this system
ducer will findlaitrhataliTstice which the consura4—
uhuepright man—could wish
which every
) 3-entlemen, the old
him to secure.—(Loud
question was simply this cheers.)
said it required a sy
tem of legislation which wouldusehcutret to you an artificial
to believe that in
price. You were always tau
raising prices you would findg redress;wisenot and, in my
opinion, it would have been very
have destroyed the old systern.—(Hear.) materiallyßu to
uohftaLourreidoosi-
t there is
another view of the case—another view
tion—another means by which you may
—and a means more practical than recurring to the redress
—which is beset with infinite difficulties. It is not to
increase, prices in order that you may have a fair re-
muneration for your toil; but it is, gentlemen, to reduce
the cost of production.—(lmmense cheering.) Now
that is the sound advice which the agricultural interest
must act upon.—(Hear, hear.) You are told that it is
one of the necessities for the prosperous condition of
England that the bread of the people should be cheap.
Well, I say take care that the producer of that bread
shall be able to produce it as cheap as possible.—(Loud
cheers.) Now gentlemen, you will find if you adept
that view of the case that you who are occupiers of the
soil will more gradually get the feeling of the country
in your favour, and at the same time more perfectly
secure compensation for yOUTSCIVO9. It is, as I have
said, in reviewing the system of taxation which exists,
and in the adjustment of thst system, that the cultiva-
tors of the soil will find that compensation which they
have a right to expect from tho abrogetion of that law
which gave them artificial prices—(Cheers)—and I say,
in accordance with the spirit of the age and with the
temper of the country, let
your produce now be
raised upon the cheapest
Possible principle.—(Loud
cheers.) Bat, then, it follows You must not allow
your native produce to be shackled by laws which
hinder the producer from competing with
foreien coun-
tries. It follows that in the new principle of justice the
cultivators of the soil shall no longer remain the only
class incapable of receiving a fair profit for their in-