The Sun.
London, England, 1864-11-24 00:00:00

Mr. Cobden at Rochdale,

ROCHDALE, Wednesday Evening.
Thre Rochdale. Reform Association, stimulated by
ere recent movements of the Conservative party in
the borough, held a political soiree to-night in the
large machine works of Messrs. Thomas Robinson
and Son, which long before the appointed hour was
densely crowded in every part. It was estimated
that upwards of 6,000 persons were present.
Mr J. Tatham, the Mayor of Rochdale,:presided,
supported by the principal gentlemen of the town
connected with the Liberal party. Mr Cobden, M P.
for the borough, attended, but Mr Bright, M.P,, to
the great regret of his fellow-townsmen, was pre-
vented from being present by the recent death of a
son of much future promise. Mr Cobden, who
arrived in Rochdale on the previous day, met with
a very enthusiastic reception, and on taking his seat
on the platform, accompanied by Mr George Wilson
and Mr Jacob Bright, was loudly cheered.
The CHAIRMAN briefly opened the proceedings.
He expressed his gratification at the numerous at-
tendance, and hoped the proceedings would be con-
ducted withorder, although it:was possible that many
on the outskirts of the crowd would be unable to
hear their esteemed member, who he hoped would
for many years to come represent the borough and
favour them with his company on similar occasions.
Itwould be presumptuous in him to detain them long
but he could not help stating his satisfaction at the
success which had so remarkably attended the poll.]
tical efforts of their esteemed representative. Those
principles werebecoming gradually established, and
but for free trade the pressure of the horrible Amee
rican war and the cotton famine would have been
so great that in his opinion the working classes in
this country would not only not have had food to
eat, but not even homes to live in. He deprecated
Government interference with private enterprise in
supplying the wants of the public services, and
hoped that Mr. Cobden would not cease to bring
the subject before the House of Commons until he
had not only convinced that assembly, but had wit.
nessed the vast manufacturing establishments of the
Government given up. (Cheers.)
Mr. Ald, ASHWORTH then proceeded to move the
following resolution:—" That this meeting expresses
its sincere sympathy and condolence with Mr. J.
Bright, M.P., in the domestic bereavement which
has prevented his attendance, assures him of the
high esteem in which he is held by his fellowstowns.
men, and is grateful to him for the valuable assist-
ance he has always so cheerfully given to the
Rochdale Reform Association." He said that he
sincerely regretted to have such a resolution placed
in his hand. There was no man in the room, nor
in the country either, who did not heartily sympa-
thise with its object. The event would call forth
their sincere regret, but it would not fail to show
how greatly Mr Bright was respected by his fellow.
townsmen. It had been said that he was less re■
spected and less loved where he was best known,
but it was a most malignant lie. No one dare ven-
ture to hazard such an assertion in Rochdale.
They might regret that domestic feelings had pre.
veiled over political ties, but it was a happy thing
for this country that such feelings were so warmly
cherished ; and he was sure that while deploring
the absence of Mr. Bright, they would prefer that
ho should have stayed away under such circum-
stances. Mr. Bright's name was indelibly asso-
ciated with the greatest legislative events of recent
times. By the repeal of the- corn laws was effected
a bloodless revolution, which had produced enor-
mous benefits, not only to the manufacturing dis.
tricts but to the whole country. Had not the corn
laws been repealed he should have regarded with
the utmost dismay the crisis through which the cote
ton manufacturing districts were now passing. He
referred to the views of Mr Bright and Mr Cobden
on the foreign relations of the country, and asserted
that during the last two years the Government
hal in its foreign policy paid the greatest homage
to these two illustrious rr en. The greater portion
of the aristocracy was ready to intervene in the
American war, but Mr Bright and Mr Cobden had
educated the people of this country, and they were
now able to control the foreign policy of the Go-
vernment, and bid defiance to the influence of any
oligarchy. To these two men the country owed its
warmest thanks, and long after they had passed
away the truth of their principles would prevail,
and generations to come would bless the day when
these two incomparable statesmen were known.
(Cheers.) England was slowly but surely adopting
their principles as its own, and he was certain that
she would never desert or prove herself recreant to
them. (Cheers.)
Mr J. PETRIE briefly seconded the resolution,
which was carried unanimously.
Mr COBDEN, who was received with enthusiastic
and sustained cheering, the audierce rising as he
stepped to the front of the platform, said—Mr
Mayor, ladies, and gentlemen, before I commence
the few remarks I have to offer, I must be per.
mated to declare my profound sympathy with the
expression of condolence which you have just offered
to my esteemed friend and your absent and bereaved
neighbour—a feeling which I know is felt by thou. •
eands here tcsnight, and which will be shared by
millions in all parts of the world. (Hear, hear.)
May he be consoled by a consciousness of the
deep sympathy and sorrow with which his
aftLetion will be everywhere received. (Hear.) Nor
can I allow this occasion to pass without a reference
to a blank in our ranks upon the platform to-night.
I have never before attended a meeting in Roch-
dale at which our lamented friend Alderman Livesey
was not present. By his death the most numerous
portion of the community of Rochdale has lost an
amiable neighbour, and in many cases a powerful
protector and advocate. I believe all classes and all
parties will concur in inscribing this epitaph on his
monument, v;z., that he was an honest, con-
sistent politician, an earnest and true friend.
(Hear, hear.) Now, gentlemen, when I see before
me this vast assembly, the largest meeting on one
floor I have ever had the honour of attending, I
regret that 1. may perhaps be unable to make you
all hear what I have to say ; but if those of you
who are on the outside will have the patience to
practise a little of that non-intervention of which
Mr Ashworth has spoken—l mean with your elbows
and toes—(laughter)—l will endeavour to reach the
ears of all present. In coming before you in pur-
suance of that good custom of a representative visit•
lug his constituents at least once a year, it is not
much my custom, as you know, to recapitulate what
has occurred in the preceding session of Parliament.
I have generally taken it for granted that you have
been paying attention to what has passed, and that
you do not require any retrospective review of
event?. I am, now, however, disposed to make an
exception from that rule, and to offer the few re-
marks on what happened during the last session, in
order to illustrate and enforce the question of
non-intervention, and to show you how, in my
opinion, the proceedings of the session have led
to a complete revolution in our foreign policy,
and have put an impassable gulf between the
old traditions of the Foreign Office and the
principles which I hope to see adopted in the
conduct of our foreign affairs. During the thirty
years since I first, by pen or voice, gave utterance
to my sentiments in public, I have always
attached the utmost importance to the principle of
non-intervention in the concerns of other nations.
(Hear, hear.) I have looked upon it, indeed, as a
fundamental article in the creed of this country, if
we would either secure good government at home
or preserve ourselves from endless embarrassment
or complications abroad. You may remember when
last I addressed you how I complained of the con-
stant violation of that principle, and how I com-
pared the state of the country, always looking after
the affairs of foreign countries, to what would be
the case in Rochdale if your town cuneil were en.
gaged in managing the affairs of Leeds or Black-
burn instead of attending to their own business.
(Hear, hear.) Well, when we met last session, the
Queen's speech announced the impending negate.
tions respecting Schleswig cud Holstein. From
the opening debate on the Queen's speech down to
the end of June, which was particularly the close
of the session, I may say, without any exception,
the whole attention of Parliament, as far as the
action of the two great parties who contend- for
power and place are concerned, was given to this
question of Schleswigellolstein. I am not going

into the history of that most complicated of all clues•
tions further than this, that in'llBs2, through the
mischievous activity of our Foreign Office, seven
diplomatists were brought round a green table in
London to settle the destinies of a million of people
in the two provinces of Schleswig.Holstein, with.
out the slightest reference to the wants or wishes
I or tendencies or interests of the people. The pre-
amble of the treaty there and then agreed to stated
that what the diplomatists were going to do was
with the view of maintaining the integrity of the
Danish monarchy and the balance of power in Eu.
rope. Kings, Emperors, and Princes were repre-
sented at that meeting. The people had not the
least voice or weight :in the matter. A treaty
was settled, the object of which was to draw
closer these two provinces and Denmark. The ten.
dency of the great majority of the people of the pro.
vinces, about a million in all, being altogether in
the direction of Germany, from that time to this
year that treaty was followed by constant agitation
and discord. A couple of wars sprung out of it, and
the upshot of it is that it has been torn to pieces
by two of the Governments who were parties to it.
That is a summary of the proceedings, and I do not
mean to go further into it. During the whole of
last session the time of the House of Commons was
occupied by this question. If you turn to the
volumes of Hansard which record what passed, you
will find in the index, under the head of Schleswig-
Holstein, or Denmark, or Germany, reference to
page after page devoted to this subject—questions
put to the Government as to when the Blue-book
would be laid on the table, when the Conference
would meet in London, when the protocols would
be submitted to Parliament, and so on. In this way
the two great parties spent the whole of the session,
and when they were set talking on this matter they
made want of papers, or the absence of a decision
on the part of the Conference, an excuse for doing
nothing else. We had great debates in the house,
and you will find that some of our most prominent
members, the men who do the chief work inthe great
party battles, hardly opened their lips about any.
thing but Schleswig-Holstein. The House of Lords
was still more animated. I have observed that if
ever there is anything connected with an exciting
foreign topic, anything likely to lead to an excuse
for naval or military expeditions, the House of
Loads becomes more excited than the House of
Commons ; but you never see the Lords lose their
calmness or self-possession on any domestic clues.
tion. (Laughter and hear.) There was one noble
peer who spoke repeatedly on this question, and
who seems to me to be peculiarly framed for illus.
trating the fact that a man may hays oratorical gifts
and yet be destitute of common sense or ordinary
judgment. (Laughter.) This noble lord in the early
part of the session in a speech on this subject assailed
the Queen for having influenced her Ministers in
the interests of Germany. We are not a republic
in this country, but the Queen. as long as she ac-
cepts a Prime Minister dictated to her by the House
of Commons, has no political power, and therefore
can have no political responsibility. (Hear, hear.)
That our present Sovereign accepts her Prime Mi.
nisters on these grounds and no other, we have good
reason to know—(hear, hear)—but what shall we
say of the chivalrous assembly which allowed a per.
son to be assailed in her absence. The only person
in the country who was defenceless—and that per-
son a lady ! (Hear.) With the exception of Earl
Russell,who spoke in defence of himself rather than.
of the Queen, no one rose to rebuke the noble lord
for his attack on her Majesty. Later in the session
we heard more from this noble lord, who claims for
himself the merit of having involved us in the Cri-
mean war, of having been its foremost advocate,
and who has always been a great supporter of for-
tifications and every other abomination of modern
times. Having begun the session by attacking the
Sovereign it was only perhaps consistent that he
should end by vituperating the whole people. The
noble lord used these words when speaking on the
Danish question in July :—" I appealed to the
higher and nobler feelings of Parliament and the
natinn—believing, as I did, that a course which was
directed by generosity would also be recommended
by policy. Others, with more success, appealed to
more common things—to lave of repose, to love of
quiet, but above all to the love of money, which has
now become the engrossing passion of the people of
this country." If I were going to call a witness to
prove that the English people are in pecu-
niary affairs chivalrously generous, almost
foolishly generous. For instance, they can give
en annual allowance of £7,700 to an individual
who has no moral claim, and certainly no legal
right to it that would be recognised in any other
country—l would call as my witness no other than
this very peer, the Earl of Ellenborough. (Hear,
hear.) But what I wish to call attention to is what
passed at the close of these debates. The newspapers
which were in the interest of the Government were
writing in favour of war to the lest moment, full of
large leading articles. Some of them even announced
the very numbers of the regiments, the names of the
colonels, the names of the ships, and their com-
manders, that were to be sent to fight the battles of
Denmark ; and in the House of Commons there was
a general opinion that there was a great struggle
going on in the Cabinet as to whether we should
declare war against Germany. At the end of June
the Prime Minister announced that he was about to
produce the protocols, and state the decision of the
Government on the question. Ho gave a week's
notice of that intention; and then I witnessed what
has convinced me that we have achieved a revolue-
tion in our foreign policy. Tho whippers-in--I sup•
pose you know who I mean ? the men who on each
side of the house take stock of the number and opi-
nions of their respective followers—were during
that eventful week sounding the views of members,
and there came up from the country such a manifes-
tation of opinion against the war that, day after
day, one member after another representing large
constituencies went to those who acted for the Go-
vernment in Parliament and told them distinctly
that the nation would allow no war for any such
matter as Schleswig-Holstein. (Hear.) There came
surging up from the great seats and centres of manu-
factures and commercial activity one'unanimous veto
against a war against Schleswig.Holstein. The con-
versation which passed in these gossipping purlieus
of the House of Commons—the library, the tea, and
smoking rooms—was most interesting and striking.
A man representing a great constituency would be
asked,' Well, how is it that the newspapers are all
writing for war ?" The reply would be, " Oh, the
newspapers in London, which are in the interest of
Government, are publishing leading articles in fa-
your of war ; but they are expressing only their
own opinions, and not the opinions one heard on
'Change." By the end of the week preceding the
Ministerial statement there was such a manifesta-
tion of public opinion that I was satisfied that
whatever the papers said, that whatever was
the opinion of the Cabinet at the moment, no Go-
vernment could get into a war while the Parlia.
ment was sitting. When the subsequent debate
came on I spoke on the subject. I challenged the
house to say whether I was speaking incorrectly
when I declared that there were not five men in it
who would vote for a war in connexion with any
question at issue in regard to Schleswig-Holstein ;
and nobody contradicted me. (Hear, hear.) The
feeling out of doors in London at this time was one
of intense excitement. I never saw the House of
Commons, even in the days of the Corn-laws, so
mobbed by what I heard called a middle-class mob,
as when Lord Palmerston came down to make his
final declaration of the decision of the Government.
It was evident that among the middle classes of
London there was an impression that peace or war
was hanging in the balance, and they were rather
apprehensive lest war should be the decision of the
Government. This placed Parliament;the governor
of the nation—which was to some extent repro.
nted by it—in a somewhat ignominious position ;
and the natural solution, according to our consti-
tutional way of doing things, was this,—that the
nation must find a vicarious sufferer who should be
made to pay the penalty of this national blunder.
The Opposition in the House of Commons is the
proper medium through
which
con-
stitutional process shouldbecartrhiee necessary
dout.
In
an-
cient times, you know, a Minister who got his
country into a mess had his head cut off • nowa-
days he is decapitated in another way—he is sent
away from Downing street into the cold shade of