The Sun.
London, England, 1864-08-10 00:00:00

Visit of L :)rd Palmerston to Bradford.

BRADFORD, Tuesday.
There are few persons who do not know Bradford,
at least by reput e ; for if the truth must be told, its
chums are of a character much more likely to fasci-
nate a political economist than a tourist. In common
with most old towns in this district, the history of
Bradford is a chequered record of the progress of
one of the great branches of industry for which this
countryiis famous. It would be little to the purpose
to go deeply into the early history of this hive of
industry; to tell how, at the Conquest, it formed a
petty village of 250 souls in a manor of 40,000 acres,
g ranted to a Norman adventurer called Ilbert de
L acy ; to point to the record in Domesday Book
which says briefly, " Ilbert has it (the manor), and
it is waste ;" to show how severely for the 300
years of its history it suffered from the incursions
of the Scots ; to show that its special industry had
become marked, and was put on record by Leland,
who says of it, "Bradford stondith much by cloth-
ing:" to recount the terrible prostration suffered
during the civil war between Charles and his Par.
liament by the attacks of the Royal troops, in re-
v enge for what Sir Thomas Fairfax describes as the
4, townspeople's good affection" to the popular cause.
Recovering slowly from the injuries then received,
the history of Bradford has happily since been one
of tardy but steady and sure improvement. The
woollen manufacture for which Bradford was once
fitmous doubtless owed its origin to the settlement
in the town of some of those Walloon families
whore the far-seeing Edward 111. invited to take
up thoir abode within his realm. After the civil
wars :the woollen manufacture died out, and
worsted fabrics—ever since the specialite of the
town.— took its place. Strikes, commercial crises,
bank failures, and foolish opposition to
machih eery and to steam power, retarded but could
not art .eat, the advance of Bradford to the full tide
of pro sperity which it now enjoys. Being almost
entir&,y independent of cotton, the disastrous
famine of the last four years has but very slightly
intenfered with its industry ; so that the clatter of
the clogged operatives on their way to the mills—
so striking a feature to a stranger in all the manu-
facturing districts—contrasts strikingly with the
comparative quiet, in early morning, of most of the
Lance shire towns.
It eis a good omen for the future of Bradford that
its cot nmercial necessities make it necessary to build
a new Exchange. Little wonder is it that such an
event should be regarded by all classes as a cause
for joyous celebration, and still less that the com.
mercial class, par excellence, should desire to con.
nett with the ceremony of laying the first stone the
name of the most popular English statesman of
modern times, whose name, also, is honourably as.
sedated with the cause of free-trade. It is a matter
of some little regret that all classes of the commu-
nity are not in accord as to the reception to be given
to the noble lord. A large meeting of the working
classes was held a week since, in the Temperance
Hall, Bradford, for the purpose of considering in
what way the unenfranchised working classes
ought to receive Lord Palmerston, se as to undeceive
him as to any supposed apathy and carelessness of
the people on the great question of Parliamentary
reform. An address was drawn up in which the
noble lord was welcomed to Bradford, but his at-
tention was immediately after called to what was
termed the " ruthless destruction of the compact
rat;de in Willis's Rooms," and his immense in.
fluonce invoked for the introduction of some mea.
'Hirt) of reform to correct the anomalies of the
representative system, and to confer the right of
voti og on these to whom it had been so repeatedly
promised. The reception committee, consider.
ing very properly that, on the occasion of a pro.
fessedly non-political visit, such an address was, to
say the least, ill advised, declined to have it pre-
sented, This determination gave considerable um-
brage to the working men, because some modifica-
tions had been introduced at the request of the re-
ception committee, who then declined to allow a
deputation of the working men to present a modi.
fied address. The working men's reception coin.
mit:tee then covered the walls with placards an.
nomacing the fact, and inviting their fellow work-
ing men to respect themselves by observing a peace.
able demeanour and determining on a dignified and
significant silence. This unfortunate dissension,
and the fact that a large number of the Low Moor
iron workmen are on strike, gave rise to some fore-
boding that the ceremony would not pass off as
tranquilly as could be desired. To add to the diflit
cuity, the Dissenters also issued a placard, asking
their co-religionists for what they had to thank
Lord Palmerston, and recounting the Census Bill,
Sir Roundel! Paimer's bill for enforcing church
rates in all new parishes, and the absence of the
noble lord from the divisions on the Oxford Uni-
versity Bill, as reasons why Dissenters should not
put themselves out of the way to add to the welcome.
The visit of his lordship has been arranged in
accordance with the details of a well considered
programme. The interest felt was evinced by the
elaborate preparations, and by the display which
was made to do honour to the occasion. The line
of route by which the procession entered the town
was gay with the profuse display of coloured bunt-
ing of all descriptions. Flags of all nations floated
from the palatial warehouses of Leeds-road, Pell.
place, Marget-street, and ail the larger thorough-
fares. Many of these wealthy firms displayed ban-
ners with appropriate mottoes and devices. One
of these, surmounted by the noble viscount's arms
bore the following :

Palmerston.
May he live longer than I have time to tell his years,
And when old Time shall lead him to his end
Goodness and he fill up one monument.
On another, in large gilt letters on a white
ground, was blazoned—

Free trade with all the world.
Instructed ships sail to quick commerce,
By which remotest nations are allied ;
Which makes one city of the universe,
Where some may gain and all may be supplied.
Numerous private houses displayed some emblems
of a share in the general rejoicing, and over prin-
cipal portions of the town the shops were closed,
and the day observed as a general holiday. Stout
barriers were erected in the streets converging to
the place where the ceremony was to take place.
This is a triangular space of open ground, known
as the Old Market, in the very centre of the town.
The building to ba erected will answer every pur•
pose of accommodation for which it will be required,

arid at the same time be a decided ornament to the

town.

During his stay in the neighbourhood Lord Pal-
merston will be th© guest of Mr Ripley, Holme
House, Lightcliffe, which is some five miles from

Bradford. The Premier reached Lightcliffe at. 6.30

p.m. on Monday. His lordship traviled by ahordi:

nary Great Northern train to Wakefield, and thence
by a special train on the Lancashire and Yorkshire
line. The quiet little village was the scene of a little
demonstration. The royal standard was hoisted in

front of the station, and flags were displayed from
the church and all tha houses of the gentry in the
vicinity. At the station his lordship was received

by Mr Ripley and his son, and when seen by the

crowd who had assembled cheer after cheer Was
given, and continued while the noble Premier and

his entertainers crossed the platform and got into
the carriage which .gas in attendance. Though
looking somewhat fatigued from his long journey,
Lord Palmerston appeared to bo in excellent health.
lie repeatedly acknowledged the warmth of his re-
ception by bowing his thanks, and smiled good-
humouredly whoa an energetic and enthusiastic
bumpkin sh.eated, " Europe's hope and England's
glory ! In the evening he met a select party at
dinner at liolme Rouse, consisting principally of the
magistracy of the West Riding. On Tuesday morn-
ing the directors of the New Exchange breakfasted
with him, and at two o'clock accompanied the noble
lord, with Mr Ripley and his other guests, to Peel
Park, the beautiful pleasnre-groand which, by the
munificence of Mr Thompson, a late mayor of Brad-
ford, was on the wedding-day of the Prince of Wales
handed over to the Corporation, and thrown open to
the public. His lor&hip, on his arrival at the Park,
was received with a salute of artillery by the Brad-
ford Bowling Artillery Volunteers, end by the cheers
of a nurneous assembly who had congregated to
had the beauties of Peel
meet him. After having
Park pointed out to him, a prr‘cssioa was Organised

by the chief constable to escort the noble Premier
into Bradford, It consisted of the Bradford and
Bowling Artillery Volunteers, headed by their
band ; the Chamber of Commerce, the overseers
and guardians of the poor, the Fire 13iigade, the
Corporation, including the execut,ve committee,
the magistrates, the mayor, Lord Palmerston, and
the Bradford Rifle Volunteers, with their band.
The route was through Otleysroad, East-parade,
Leeds-road, Bridge street, Market-street, Lower
Cheatside, a part of Market-street, Charles-street,
Banksotreet, and the Old Market. Along the
whole of the line of route the spectators
were numerous, but at no point inconveniently
crowded until the neighbourhood of the Old
Market was reached. Here a dense crowd had
collected, and windows and house-tops were covered
with spectators in such a way as to show only
their outlines by a living mass of humanity. The
reception which his lordship met with, though
cordial, certainly lacked some of that heartiness
which the co. operation of the masses alone can
ensure. To the credit of the working men of Brad-
ford be it said, though they maintained the silence
they advised, they very fairly also maintained the
dignity of the masses that they represented.
Whatever lack was made up for at the site, where
the cheering was loud and continuous, even after
the noble lord had taken his place on the platform.
Nearly the whole of the site of the proposed
building was surrounded by flags, banners, and
mats de cockayne, and raised seats, which were
occupied by spectators provided with tickets. On
the arrival of the cortege, the bands played " See
the conquering hero comes." His lordship, the
mayor, and the corporation, and the other dignita-
ries having alighted and taken up their position
round the suspended stone, a fine block of free-
stone, the Mayor briefly welcomed Lord Palmer.
ston to Bradford. A handsome silver trowel was
then presented to his lordship, who proceeded,
secundum artern, to spread the mortar and lay the
stone with the usual formalities. A bottle, con-
taining newspapers and photographs of Lord Pal-
merston, the mayor, and three Jirectors was de-
posited in the cavity of the lower stone. The fol-
lowing address was then presented to his lordship
by Alderman Wright, one of the directors of the
Exchange Company, Mr. John Rawson reading
it -

To the Right Hon. Viscount Palmerston, K.G., G.C.8,,
M.P,, First Lord of Her Majesty's Treasury.
May it please your Lordship,—llaving requested your
lordship to honour this town with your presence on this
memorable day, we, the directors of the Bradford Exchange
Company, would tender to you our warmest thanks for the
gracious manner in which your lordship has consented to
take part in the important commercial ceremony for which
we are assembled, Before we ask your lordship to lay the
first stone of the structure which is to rise on this site, we
would tor a moment call your lordship's attention to the
circumstances which have required its erection. The build-
ing now used as an Exchange was opened in the year 1828,
Three years after, the population of the borough was
43,527—in 1861 it was upwards of 106,000, Ia the year
1828 there were not mere than two or three firms trading
as stuff merchants in the borough—in 1861 :the number
thus engaged was 157. In the year 1841 the annual rental
of the property in the borough assessed to the poor rate
amounted to £l37,77B—this year the same amounted to
£315,740. In 1831 the number of houses was 8,193—n0w it
is about 24,8C0. In 1836 the number of registered Parlia-
mentary voters was 1,347—n0w it is 4,504. The tables of
mills and machinery, imports as to wool, and exports as to
worsted fabrics, would show si,nilar increase. It will not,
therefore, surprise your lordship that the building which
was considered sufficient and capacious for the wants of
1823 should be found quite inadequate to the requirements
of the present time. Sensible that our commercial empire
is most emphatically peace, we congratulate your lordship
on that enlightened policy which has so recently secured
one of its blessings in the increased connections between
this country and France, and of which wo trust that the
French treaty, so eminently bentficial to both countries, is
but the first fruits, and that your visit to this town in a
time of peace and this proposed building is but one of its
many victories. The trade of this borough was never more
remunerative than at present to the skilful hands of toil,
and the vast capital that is employed connects it with the
prosperity of the farmers at home and in the distant colo-
nies, with every sheepfold, however remote, and every shep-
herd in every clime. Its ambition is to hang its trophies in
every household, to wrap them round the inmates of its
houses. In asking you to lay the foundation stone of this
monument of the prosperity of this district, we congratu-
late your lordship that you have lived to see so many insig-
nificant villages in your country rise to the importance of
large and influential towns; so many limited occupations
expand into gigantic manufactures ; so many feeble tribu-
taries to the national wealth become mighty streams, swell-
ing its resources. Nor are we lees glad to see you amongst
us, after so many honoured yeart of public service, not an
old man broken with the storms of State, but still a man of
sovereign parts, whose age has charms in it. We shall be
delighted to associate your lordship's name with the com-
mencement of the important edifice which Is to adorn and
benefit this town, as we have long had to make your lord-
ship's motto, " Flecti non Frangi," the foundation of the
delicate manipulation of the materials of our manufacture,
desiring for this building no higher honour than that it
may witness as steady a growth in the success of this town
as 3 our lordship has seen in the prosperity of your coun-
try ; and that passing years may mark its walls with as
gentle a hand as they have laid upon your lordship, and
gather around it as many gratifying marks of reverential
regard as your lordship enjoys.
Given under the seal of the Bradford Exchange Com
pany, the 9th day of August, 1864,

The stcne was laid with the usual observances,
amidst hearty cheers. The peculiarly serious and
artistic manner in which the Premier discharged
the duty of spreading the mortar, and afterwards
seeing that the stone was properly adjusted, excited
general admiration.

Lord PALM ELSTON then eaid—;gentlemen, I must
in the first place beg the people of this town to an-
capt my most hearty thanks for the kind and con•
dial reception which I have met with this day.
(Cheers.) I can assure you that the recollection of
it will never &part from my memory. It has
afforded me great pleasure to be instrumental in what
is technically called laying the foundation of your
New Exchange ; bnt that foundation has been hid
long since by the people of Bradford themselves.
(Cheers.) For it is in the industry and in the
prosperity, in the successful exertions of the people
of Bradford, that has been laid the foundation, not
only of this building, but of the future prosperity
of which this building will only be the emblem and
representative. You have, indeed, in the address
which I have just had the honour of receiving, made
mention of the wonderful growth of this town in an
inconceivable short space of time; but I trust that
it is still destined to equal some of the larger seats
of industry, and that when I may have again the
pleasure of re-visiting this to Am I may ace that this
prosperity has been continued still more rapidly
than daring the period to which your remarks have

referred. (Cheers.) Indeed, when I look around

on your prosperity to-day, I should have thought
that the population of Bradford had been much

Larger than lam told it now is. I know that lam

welcome here—(cheers)—and I know how warm
the hearts of Yorkehiremen arc—how kind they are
to those whom they have invited, and how disposed
they are to show the warmth of their feelings by
the strong outward demonstration of their voices.
(Cheers.) It is not the first time that I have been
in this county, but I must say that the kind recep-
tion which I have this day received exceeds any-
thing which I have been entitled to expect even
from warm-hearted Yorkshiremen. (Cheers.) I
consider that what we have done to-day is that we
have laid the foundation of a temple of peace.
(Cheers.) Because your industry not only is pro-
ductive
of peace, but is essentially prosperous in
peace. It is, therefore, the cause and the effect of
peace ; and I look upon it that the Exchange which
is to be raised upon this site may be properly
designated as a temple of peace, You have men.
Coned the great development which the commerce
of this county and the manufactures of Bradford have
received from the commercial treaty with France,
Well, that treaty has had another effect. It has not
only given a stimulus to industry, and compensated
in a great degree for those calamitks which have
befallen in other quarters, but it is every year
cementing the good feeling between too neighbour-
ing nations, be)th of which, having no cause for reci-
procal jenlousy, would have no ground for mutual
hostility, which has tco often marked our relations
in times gone by. Bat we have every reason to find,
in interests in common end in sympathetic feeling,
mutual relations of friendship; and I trust the
people of Bradford may properly be said to he most
important negotiators in that respect. (Cheers.)
Gentler:lon, I will not detain you longer. If I were
to say all I feel I should keep
you her 3 till sunset.
It would be an aufP.ir return for tl2.e courtesy you

have shown me. I shall therefore again thank you
for the :kind reception which I have experienced,
and say that I am proud of having been applied to
to preside at this ceremony, which I trust is only
the harbinger of future greatness and increasing
prosperity for this industrious and increasing town.
(Cheers.)

A blessing on the New Exchange having been
asked by the vicar of Bradford, the National Anthem
was played, and this stage of the day's proceedings,
which were conducted throughout most successfully,
was brought to a close.

The architects of the building are Messrs. Lock-
wood, Mawson, and Mawson, of Bradford, who de.
signed the St. George's Hall, the splendid Alpaca
Mills of Titus Salt, Esq., at Saltaire, one of the local
infirmaries, and also several places of worship in the
West Riding. The plan has been accepted provi-
sionally, but there is.no doubt that it will be adopted.
The style is Venetian-Gothic. There will be a
handsome but rather ecclesiastical spire and tower
at one end, and the design is framed with a view
to numerous necessary and important improve-
ments to be made in the approaches by the corpo-
ration. There will be three entrances, the chief
being under the tower, and communicating with an
arcade for change purposes. A vestibule leads from
this to the exchange hall, a magnificent space of
625 superficial yards. The parallelogram of the
hall will be 20 feet by 70 feet, with an apex at the
north side 42 feet in diameter. Banded shafts of
polished granite, with capitals and bars of Caen
stone, will surround the Exchange, and from the
capitals will spring arches to form windows. Filled
in with tracings of elegant mediaeval designs at each
gable ends will be a large splended window under
the colonnade. The hall will be 25 feet high under
the spring of the roof, 37 feet. There will be a
telegraphic office, large news room, and other con•
veniences on the ground floor, and on the basement
story are to be kitchen, larder, scullery, and wine-
cellars, for the use of the Bradford Club. On the
first floor will be a large coffee-room, reading, writ-
ing, and dining-rooms, and detached, but on the
same floor, smoking, billiard, card, and six bed-
rooms. Another portion of the building is to be set
apart for the use of the Chamber of Commerce.