The Sun.
London, England, 1852-01-29 00:00:00

THE SUN,

DINNER TO THE MEMBERS FOR

BRADFORD.

A public dinner wits given to Colonel Thorep_on
and Robert Milligan, Ea q., z.io Al:embers for the
boroue hof Bradford, on Monday evening last. The
dinner was got up by the Liberal electors for the
purpose of meeting their representatives prior to the
next Parliamentary campaign, and it took place in
the Temperance-hall, the largest room in the town.
Nearly 200 electors sat down to dinner, the largest
number that could be comfortably accommodated.
The veteran Colonel and his newly -elected colleague
were received with several rounds of cheering on
their entering the room.
T1T1153 SALT, E,q., presided on the occasion ; and
on the toast of " Freedom of Trade" being given,
Colonel Derma-sore having in consequence of a cry
of " up !" returned to his place on the platform, said
" Gentlemen, in compliance with your desire, I am
" up."—(Cheers and laughter.) I feel myself dis-
pensed from the necessity of repeating anything I may
have ever uttered in this place before (a place, too, in
which I have seen some strange contests in times
past), by the circumstance that I have to communi-
cate to you some opinions which perhaps are facts,
and which I lay before you solely because I know
not how I can conscientiously withhold them. I
am driven into a corner between conflicting wishes. I
should like to hold my peace; I should like to speak
the truth. Which must I do? I think the last.
We have all agreed several times over, that these in-
deed are " times." Truly they are times, such as
man has not lately seen, and I trust when they are
gone it may be long before he sees again. But they
are times which have their bearings upon the most
reasonable of all objects for your anxiety and pre-
caution. Now, what I am going to say may be
contrary to the opinions and expectations of some
here present, but my conscientious opinion is, that
as it was permitted to the early Christians to pray that
their flight might not be in the winter, so it cannot
be improper for you, whose daily bread, or that at all
events, of your poorer neighbours, hangs upon this
question of free trade, to pray that at this particular
moment we may escape from a dissolution of Parlia-
ment.—(Hear.) Because it is my conviction, that if
there is a dissolution of Parliament, you'll be beaten.
—(Hear.) Is that intelligible? As an old, and, I
believe nobody doubts, sincere friend and supporter
of free trade, I am under the necessity of stating here,
whatever it may cost, that that cause has not been
fought up in Parliament in a way to give confidence
that it will not fail in the hour of trial. Shall I en-
deavour to give you a description of what I saw with
my eyes and heard with my ears ? There was, on one
occasion, in the gone-by session, a grand field-day
upon the subject of free trade, or rather, I should say,
upon the subject of protection ; for all that side brought
forward their best array ; their ablest men, one after
another, came forward to put protection with the
best side foremost—if it have a best side at all.
No human effort was omitted to put forward
all that could be advanced in its support. Men
of high name, of acknowledged talent, one after
another exerted their best powers; able lawyers, men
whose life's business and point of honour it had been to
defend vigorously such causes as they take in hand,
handled the question zealously and powerfully, a
great deal too powerfully for my liking, because I had
even then my doubts of what would be the force of
the defence. At last the time came for free trade,
your free trade to reply. And what did we hear ?
Had you been there, you would, like me, have been
on the stretch to catch the direction and tone of the
defence. And what heard we ? We heard this. Up
rose an Hon. Gentleman, not distinguished that I
know of for originating much upon the subject of free
trade, one who had joined when he must do it or be
all too late. And he said, for his part, if free trade
did not answer better than it had done, he for one
should be willing to give it up. There was a defence
of you and yours. Every speaker is expected to have
a barker ; so thereupon rose another Hon. Member,
and he said that he, too, should be willing to give
up free trade if he did not think the landed interest
had some kind of compensation in the legacy duties.
—(Laughter). Here was the sum and substance
of what you must call your defence. Now is that
giving a great and just cause fair play ? I
need not ask your answer. I remember mentioning
these circumstances to an ardent friend of ours, who
may perhaps be here, and he said, " We trusted to
you to do something for us." There may be more
things in heaven and earth than are known to your
philosophy. 1 did what it was given me to do. If
I gave way, I gave way before the irresistible.
When a man comes into the House of Commons, as
I happened to do, somewhat in the character of " one
born out of due time," it is perhaps not unnatural,
considering the weary length to which the debates
are apt to extend, that such a man should be consi-
dered as an interloper, and put down accordingly.
There is a certain quantity of depression which is
enough for any man. There was an old farmer in the
North of Yorkshire, who used to go coursing with a
pole 16 feet long upon his shoulders.—(Laughter.)
When asked why he took it, he said, " Sometimes I can
see the hare sitting and get a knock at her, and it
wonderfully dulls her running." If it had been your
fortune to be put down five or six times one after the
other, you would find it " wonderfully dull'd your
running." Had I had opportunity and licence to come
forward as your defender, at all events the defence
should have been tried. Had I been asked for a policy, I
confess old habits would have come upon me, and I
should have said "Never trust to what men will do,
but always guard against what they may do. Have
one or more men on duty by day and eke by night,
and let their instructions be, never to let any of the
opposite side come forward with an argument, with-
out giving them their fairing in return." Had that
been done, you would have been safer than you are.
My advice is therefore distinctly this—lf you di-
rectly or indirectly can help the Government which
is disposed to stand by you, do it. If by this you
can stave off a dissolution, be it for a longer or a
shorter time, stave it off and be thankful —(Cheers.)
Your interest is to keep things going as they are ;
because they are going your way and not your ene-
mies'. I have done a duty, not one that presented
itself as what a man would volunteer to do if he
eould help it. But I believe in my heart and con-
science, your cause is not in safety. There is no use
in talking of what is gone by for ever ; there may be
some in speaking of what should be done hereafter.
I look therefore to the friend whom you have just
chosen as the guardian of your interests, and I im-
plore of him not to lose a moment of such time as
yet may be vouchsafed to us. Lose no opportunity
for showing an active front against the movements of
the monopolising principle; and whatever happens
us, do not let the time come when we shall be like
the unhappy hare in the fable, who allowed the tor-
toise to win the race, and was only active when it
was all too late. Who can tell what dangers may
surround us? Suppose the fact should turn out to
be, that the existing Governthent is not strong enough
to stand. Who is to succeed ? Can it by any pos-
sibility be friends of yours ? There can be none but
men disposed in their hearts to make the most of
any circumstances adverse to your interests ; and
who can tell what pressure might come from abroad
sto play into their hands ? Suppose, for instance, the
despotic powers in Europe agreed to state that the
(
one point on which England was besought to recon-
cile herself with Europe, was in giving up her at-
tachment to what in France are called "the Utopias
of the economists." If things go on as at present,
you will not be long before you have representa-
tions of this kind from the the despotic
powers
through their ambassadors. The point is one that
opular delmions, will
keeps them awake at nights. The Governments
that live by cultivating P .
never fail to light on a cry for " native
as sure of it as
indus-
try," as what will serve their turn. I have seen
it in print already. You are
that the sun will rise to-morrow, and do you think a
Government in England that learned the same way,
would not take advantage of the fact ? Gentlemen, I
hope I have made myself intelligible. I may be right
or I may be wrong; but I have discharged my con-
science.
Whatever happens, you cannot say I held
my
peace. Look into your position; use the time
that lies before you. At all events let us have some-
thing
of
a attention since the defence, for the greatest, the most useful,
the most
important cause that has perhaps engaged
world began.—(Cheers.) Peace,
happiness, plenty, civil
touchstonelmd religious liberty, all hang
by it. It is thegraves
thrown before us in our day, which Providence has
to see who is worthy and
geas
who not, to bear to their the character of pru-
dent Mr. Milligan's health having been
men and wise.—(Cheers.)
given, and se-
veral others having been duly honoured, the proceed-
ings terminated.

findio
iti I. Ia
Companies
t h e
aban-
donedCaorne-s
----____
en et
aeornfedr road,
' and from veyanetehaenpdenny and twopenny fares which had I:tnehdeenthlaoduerfpnteeyd,
l'gst c7AWs Association ci at
OMNlBUSpaFdadirtn
9rn Tot-
tenham-court-road and the .
nowon the
comprise Oxford-streeta
moietyan ofd t
hHolborneextre
wholemli
Although the vast number of
.fares for intermediate distances of
with two two fourpenny
line of road have now greater
thirds o f th
on
nWthhoi Ise iin ourpoil:.
ayn. t
facilities for cheap travelling
vehicles were started, still we are
thsoarnrybteofofirnedtthhee
proprietors
a doubt that they were adopted no
cheap conveyance
so speedily abandoning the cheaper fatrewsitahsaitypireowvetsobbee)nmenfidt
the public and afford them the means of ,
solely with the intention, if possible, of driving through the metropolis, so much needed.an. d desired, but
opposi-
tion
and the public
off the road and then, possibly, resuming tghe old rates.
This, however, has not been accomplished,
have still the opportunity of travelling at the. cheap fares, so
long as they support the original promoters do, of them, w
it would appear at present they have every desire to as
their omnibuses are well loaded, and in spite of the opposition
of ithe monopolist companies are able to maintain their
ground.
IRON SHIPS.--The Antelope iron steamer has ar-
rived at Liverpool from California, after an absence from
England of about three years. She is in such sound condi-
tion after her voyages to and from the Pacific and her ser-
vice there, that a little paint is all that she requires to
smarten her tap for another trip.