The Sun.
London, England, 1852-07-08 00:00:00

occupied every house, to make themselves perfectly free
with everything and everybody therein contained?—
(Hear.) I may be told these are vain apprehensions—
appeals made to the fanciful fears of the country simply
for the publics expenditure. That reminds me of a story
which I remember having heard of an elderly lady who
lived near Henley-on-Thames, and who, when an in-
vasion was expected by Napoleon Bonaparte said she '
did not believe it would ever come, because she had
been told in her youth the Pretender was coming, and,
as he never oame to Henley, she believed Napoleon Bo-
naparte never would come there either.—(Laughter.)
Now I don't quote this story,' gentlemen, to throw any
reflexion upon the intelligence of the elder portion of the
fairer sex—(A laugh)—because I remember to have
heard that the Duchess of Gordon, in the time of Mr.
Pitt, talking to an elderly statesman, was told by him,
with regard to something in which he thought he had
acted unwisely, " Really, Madam, I feel that I am grow-
ing an old woman;" upon which the Duchess replied,
"I am glad to hear that that's ail, for I really thought
your Grace was growing an old man, and that's a much
worse thing."—(Great laughter.) Now I say that those
men who tell you that because you have had no invasion
since the Norman Conquest you never will have one,
and that you need not guaird against it, are old men.
—(A. laugh.) Though they may not be old in years,
they are old in imbecility of intellect. All those
who are most able to judge of military and naval
operations tell you that an invasion is perfectly
possible; that it i 3 more possible now than itc se
was before, mainly on account of the great h
gn
which has been made by the application of steersa
You are
naval and military operations; and to tell you that
Yareeent
safe from invasion now because you were able to
it before, to tell yon that you are safe
you have
fromerto invasions
now without precautions, because
hithtest of all pos-
sible it by precautions, is the grey it that you had
sible absurdities. Why, how happened
no`, invasion at the time of which ttia good old lady at
a large stanuing
Henley spoke? Because you htladt your whole militia
army within the kingdom; you bash
pay; you had,
organised, enrolled, and
on the"
whole country was in
besides, 400,000 volunteers, he have made an effectual
arms, and the enemy couldheillioet
ve and I have been told
attempt; Izit even then,
was onlyinwhich consequence of
on good authority, jaeratioo, by tnqe French
the failure of a naval at
forged a junction, that an at-
fleets were to have was not made. The result
tempt to invade yousnch as it always will be when
would have narmed and prepared; but I say
Englishmen aril'', amen are not armed, and are
that, if —ure doing injustice to themselves,
not prepared. the
howing themselves worthy of those great
and b
are Ettoreable hlsesiogs which it has been the will of
is evieeece
and iiest- to bestow upon them. Some of you may
say, however, et.' " On, but we may petsitily ba, taken for
the militia- 1, 0-a the B.
which
wes first brought in
by the late Government, and which they said wise thrown
out by is vote to which the Rouse of Camtnens came at
my shaah -eltion• was fourideri on the Local Mande Acts,
and Wet Bill had fur its lassie compulsory service by
ballot. The exceptions were to ba smell; the general
scope of the Bill was service by blot, and no power to
serve by substitute. Nov, the presees Act, to which I
gave my humble entepor; in Parliament, and- which some
of those who object to me cast in my teeth as a reproach,
is founded, on the contrary, upon voluntary service, and
unless the number of men es not rein-,l by bounty—as I
em confident it will be—no recourse is to he had to the
las:lot, or to compulsory service. I fed, gentlemen, that
in the part which it was my lot to take in furtherance
of that measure I acted upon a sense of duty to my
country. and that I ren3eee,l a humble service to the
whole of the ueitsi kingdom.—(Ceeers ) There is one
other question which has been ice subj-ut of touch pub-
ha dieeuesion—l mean the grant whien was placed on
the consolidated fund for the Collette cf Maynoote, by
Ste Act of Parliament passed in the time of the late Sir
Robert Peel. I know that many-persona in &gland and
Seetlaral anxiously desire that the grant sliou d be re-
voked. I confess I are not one of allege who are pre-
pared to join in that that
revocation. I look upon grant
as a part Of a general system, and I look upon it
afs as
a peculiar arrangement arising out of the rendition
sister country. If a man tells thaisae he of the
objects to the
grant to lieynooth because he objects to any grant of
public money to the ministers; of any rg' el or te any
eccreeisstical establishment, I tindtrae,n7ci'hnis'arguinent;
I respect his opinion; I differ from it, but at the
same time I acknowledge that his °ejection is founded
upon intellieibi • • f --(Sear, hear.)
es• princip es 0 action. ,
I have been born and bred in a country where
there is an established church; my opinion is
that it is for the advantage of every country to have
an established church, and that that church ought to
be the church of the majerity. There are those who
differ from me. I respect their difference, bat I main-
tain nay own opinion. This College of ralaynooth, how-
ever, rests upon particular considerations. I; was granted
to the Irish an order that their priesthood might be edu-
cated at home, instead of going to Spain, to France, or
to Rome to obtain an education. Is was granted before
the Union; and, though its maintenance was not a
special stipulation of the Union, yet still I hold that the
good faith of Eoglaud was engaged, not without good
reason, to deprive the Irish of the grant.—(Cheers.)
Now, I can quite understand that those who wish the
Irish to be Protestants would propose to take away this
grant, if. by withdrawing it, they could turn the Irish
from being Catholics to become Protestants. But you
would do no such thing if you took away the grant.
You would, indeed, deprive the poor Irish scholar who
is destined for the priesthood of a national education.
You would send him to Spain, or to Italy, or else-
where, to learn there the most objectionable doctrines
of the church to which be belongs. Ho would come
back as complete a Catholic as if he had been echo.
cited at Maynooth; but he would also come back
a Spaniard, or an Italian, or a Frenchman, instead
of being, as he now is, an Irishman to the very
heart's core.—(Hear, hear.) I say, then, it would be an
act of great hardship and injustice towards the humble
Irish scholar if you were to deprive him of those means
of Instruction; and it would also be an injury to the
country to fill the Irish parishes with priests, who, in-
stead of baying been educated as Irishmen, would bring
with them political and foreign doctrines to contaminate
the purity of their national faith.—(Hear, hear.) I say
then gentlemen, that I for one am not prepared to vote
for taking away that grant, It is a part of - a general
question on which I differ in opinion from many whose
Judgment I respect. It is a peculiar question between
England and Ireland ; and both as an Englishman,
and as being interested in Ireland, I feel it would be
an injustice and an injury to the country to with-
draw the grant.—([fear, hear.) Now, gentlemen I
am not aware that there is any other topic of material'
importance upon which it can be my duty to address
Jou, and to detain you longer under this burning sun
1 can only say that I hold it to be the duty of those
who govern the country, and of those who are sent into
Parliament to deliberate upon the interests of the coun-
try, to cons eta that they are governing and deliberat-
ing for the interests of the whole nation—not to allow
themselves to be biassed by the interests or the wishes
of any one particular class, but to feel and to remember
that every class must benefit sooner or later by the
prosperity ref the whole, and that it is a narrow and a
short-sighted policy which endeavours to rear the inte-
rests of the few upon the injury of the many.—(Cheers.)
I appeal, gentlemen, to the general prosperity of the
country; I appeal to the progressive increase of the re-
venue, and more especially of the revenue drawn from
an increased consumption by the poorer classes of all
those articles in which their limited enjoyment consists;
I appeal to that universal. prosperity which no man eat,
now deny as proofs that the successive Administrations
which of late years have been charged with the interests
of the country, and that the Parliaments which have had
-to deliberate upon the measures proposed, have steered
a wise and prudent course, and that that course has been
rewarded by those results—the benefit of all—which
were predicted by the men who proposed and who sanc-
tioned the Intatures to which I advert.—(Cheers.) Gen-
tlemen, I again thank you for the distinguished honour I
you have this day conferred upon me. trust that my
future conduct will equally with my past merit the con-
tinuance of your favours, and as long as I enjoy the
honour of representing you, I can assure
you that there
is no other distinction of that kind which any circum-
dances would induce me to prefer.— Cheers.) Gentle-
men, I beg to return you my most sinsere and cordial
thanks.—(Load cheering.)
Mr. RoWCLIFF then came forwthel and put several
questions to Lord Palmerston, the nature of which will
be fully ep arent from the Noble Lord's reply.
Lord PAM
ERSTON said —My go
oming often od friend Mr. Row-
cliff, has reproached me for not cenough
among you. I must say that h
to make my ts here e does not appear disposed
(Laughter and cheers.) rticularly agreeable to me.—
in which he received me affords say that the manner
cultivate the society of persons -60;nahela encouragement to
(Renewed laughter.) whether It way of thinking.
--
cal, a Chartist, or a Tory I really ca. Roweliff is a Radi-
that all parties may have some reasoene°t
or as:V. I believe
ing him.—(A laugh.) Mr. Rowcliffsaa—lg kr. claim-
you of the good that Governments anti I only told
done, and thatl have myself done, ritamenta have
and that
told you of the bad. Why, God bless me, have not
unnecessary for me to t
tdo that when he awses
e hectit
(Loud laughter.) If there was a bad thing to tsr
re-
corded, to be invented, or to be imagined, 1 am
uitee
q aura
Mr. Rowcliff would be the first man to tell you of it..
(Laughter, which was increased when Mr. Rowcliff called
out " Question.") Well, Mr. Rowcliff is impatient under
this castigation. I will hit lower or higher, just as he
pleases—(Laughter)—but he must allow me to hit some-
where. Mr. Rowcliff has asked me what Government
I mean to join. Now, that is a question that must depend
upon' the future—(A laugh)—but I will toll him what
Governmeent Ido not mean to join him. I can assure
you and him that I never will join a Government called
a Rowcliff Administration.—(Great laughter and cheer-
ing.) igew, gentlecaen, don't you imagine, because you
deem it very absurd that there should be such an Ad-
ministration, that my friend Mr. Rowcliff is at all of
that way of thinking; for I believe I am not far mistaken
in the opinion that he will consider everything going
wrong in this world, and in this country, until the Row-
cliff wrong
shall govern the land —(Loud
laughter.) Mr. Rowcliff has raked up old and bygone
commonplvea about pensions. He ought to know—
because he has no right to talk upon the subject with-
out informing himself about it—that pensions are ex-
tremely limited in amount, and that they are only
given for acknowledged public services. All those
abuses of sinecures, of inordinate pensions, and of.
Ealsbestowed pensions, which existed in former times,
beve 'been corrected, and the pension list has been
enormously reduced. It is true that pensions have not
been taken away from those to whom they were granted
for life, because that would have been a breach of faith,
but future pensions are not granted except upon
grounds which Parliament itself acknowledges to be
just.—( Hear, Lev.) M. Rowcliff sass I voted for the
Militia BM. As I have already explained to yoq, the
material difference between the Militia kill which I op-.
posed and the Militia Bill which I -suppoited was. that