The Sun.
London, England, 1863-02-04 00:00:00

ME SUN, LONDON, WEDNESI)AY EVENING, FEBRUARY 4, 1863.

The Right Hon. F. Peel, M.P., at Bury.

The Right Hon, F. Peel, Secretary to the Treasury, ad-
dressed a crowded meeting of his constituents at Bury last
night. He was received with great cheering, and said he
thought that an M.P. should visit his constituents occa-
sionally for the purpose of taking a bath of liberty. It was
among constituencies that the public opinion of this coun-
try took its rise, and nowhere could principles of liberty be
imbibed at a purer source, and nowhere could a member
of Parliament take surer soundings whereby to regulate,
and, if necessary, to rectify, his principles. (Ap-
plause.) His pleasure in coming forward to address
them upon this occasion was not altogether unmixed
with pain, on account of the stagnation of trade which
pressed upon the inhabitants of the borough. Though
he had not been among them he had followed the course of
the distress with the deepest interest, and he welcomed the
glimmering of light which had been visible of late in the
gloom which had so long prevailed ; he hoped they had now
seen the worst of it, for the returns showed a steady though
a slight decline. In looking at the progress of the distress,
he knew not whether to be most struck with the vastness
of its proportions, with the endurance and fortitude of those
who had been the sufferers, or with that splendid burst of
succour and sympathy which it had evoked—(cheers)—and
which had not only freely arrived from every part of this
country, from colonies and foreign States, but even from
those generous Americans who, though full of theh own
difficulties, could still find room for feelings of benevolence
for this country. (Applause.) And this was owing in no
small degree to the noble conduct of the suffering classes
themselves, which had turned the calamity almost into an
advantage for the country, by raising the reputation of the
English character for fortitude, patience, and love of order,
As to the future, he thought the recovery was likely to be
slow. He did not see any immediate prospect of the termi •
nation of the American war ; and, if it were terminated he
doubted whether a long time must not elapse before the
supply of cotton would be as cheap and abundant as before
the outbreak , but he believed that in future the recurrence
of such a calamity would be avoided by drawing a proper.
tion of their wants from other countries and from parts of
our own empire, and thought it would be some compensa-
tion for our present suffering that in future war should not
find us dependent upon one single source of supply. It ap-
peared that the supplies from India had not equalled their
anticipations either as to quantity or quality, especially the
latter, which it was the opinion of some people well quali-
fied to judge could never be brought up to the standard re-
quired. He thought, however, that India was in that re-
spect the land of promise, and the Indian Government ought
to do everything in its power to encourage the introduction of
English capital for the cultivation of the soil, and do every
thing requisite to encourage promoters of those public works
which were Indispensably necessary to make transport prac-
ticable and inexpensive. (Applause.) He did not think
the Indian Government ought to do anything to exempt the
cultivators of cotton from the usual, taxation of that coun-
try ; but he thought there was no question which deserved
so large a share of the attention of the Government as this,
for if Englishmen could be induced to embark their time
and capital in India it must, succeed or not succeed, result
in benefit to the people of India; and, if successful, the
people of this country would reap an equal benefit. If the
war in America should continue it became a call of duty
upon us te intervene for the purpose of endeavouring to stop
it—(applause)—and he thought that, next to the duty of
preserving peace for ourselves, came the duty of endeavour•
ing to preserve and restore peace to other countries. (Ap-
plause.) He thought the French Government entitled to
commendation for t►te solicitude they had shown in this
matter, and for the attempts they were making to bring
about a reconciliation in that country. (Applause.) Having
been discouraged by England and Russia, they had now,
singlehanded, made an appeal to the Washington Govern-
ment, offering their mediation and their good offices, and,
in addition, say that a refusal to accept the offer will not be
taken as a slight; but they suggest in that case whether
the Washington Government would not find it advisable to
open direct negotiations with the Confederate Government
with a view to settle amicably the matters in dispute between
them. It was impossible to speculate upon the reception
given to that proposal, but it was perhaps of more interest
in view of approaching discussions in the House of Commons
' to inquire with regard to the course which our own Govern-
ment had taken. The burden of proof would be upon the
Government for the position which it had taken in its policy
of neutrality, to the extent of refusing even to offer friendly
advice. In his opinion its defence would tuna upon the fact
that in offering that advice it would not only have been re-
jected, but misconstrued, and the services proffered would
actually have been viewed in the light of disservices.
(Cheers.) He feared, judging upon general grounds, that
there was only too much reason to apprehend that that
might have been the result; and in that case the British
Government not only consulted the dignity of this country
but consulted the chances of their own usefulness in any
future representation to America. The Government of the
Northern States did not so much complain of the English
Government as of the sentiments expressed in public and by
the press with regard to the causes, objects, and ends of the
war. They appear dissatisfied that we did not sympathise
with them in their efforts to subvert slavery. Now, all of
us abhorred slavery, and desired to see the emancipation of
the slaves, and the institution of slavery a thing of the
past. A proclamation had been issued by President Lincoln
abolishing slavery, but when we came to look into the mo-
tives of that proclamation we found much to moderate our
sympathy. We found a provision which excepts its appli-
cation te the slaves of royal persons and the slaves of those
States that may be conciliated into loyalty by favour of
exemption; and hence the inferenee is that it is less for the
welfare of the slaves than for the ruin of his master, and
that the motive is not sympathy for the negro, but rather
antipathy to the white Southern Confederation. (Cheers.)
He thought an act which was likely to produce much mis-
chief did not recommend itself to the friends of emancipa-
tion, though he believed it would not be without its efect,
even if the Confederate Government were established, as it
was most probable it would be. (Cheers.) But he thought
the interests of the slave and of the people of America would
be best consulted by giving them their freedom by degrees
rather than by any special decree when they were unpre-
pared. He then spoke of the duty of the Government to
adopt retrenchment, and concluded by assuring his consti-
tuents that he would faithfully attend to their interests and
those of the people.

LIVERPOOL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.—The ad-
journed meeting was held yesterday for the purpose
of-declaring the result of the election of seven members of
the Council in room of those who retired. The gentlemen
elected were Messrs. S. R. Graves, T. Chiltin, T ,tnlineon,
C. Bushell, Parker, Holland, and B. Hall. Some discus-
sion took place in respect to the recent declaration of the
opinions of members of the Chamber in relation to the
question of the rights of belligerents, but nothing of a
practical nature arose out of it.
The Manchester Guardian says:—" It is finally
settled that Mr. Frith is to paint the marriage of
the Prince of Wales, the Queen having, in the handsomest
and readiest manner, renounced her original intention of
having merely an episode of the marriage painted, on a
small scale, and having at once acquiesced in Mr. Flith's
wishes, as respects the scale and importance of the work,
and its price-3,000 guineas—certainly not more than a
re sonable remuneration for the year's work of an artist
who is now employed on a commission for three pictures,
for which he is to receive £lo,ooo—and on which he does
not expect, 1 believe, to be employed much, if at all, above
two years."
men-servants are male-
factors, cooks are sinners—clever --f
elr
i s—clever sinners. How
they COOKED
m oun t
upA biIIsACCOUNTS.--If 0 U
andN T S .
books 1
How they:
what destroy, how
masses
they waste, how they make one's heart ache
of gravy beef they use to make the mysterious abuse they
call eonaomme—what volumes do they not inscribe with
the detestable word " lard :" what exits do wholejoints
make when once cut into: what sinks of pilfering are
the
washtubs : what mysteries the baker's bills : whatin-
comprehensible narratives the cook's own book I Surely a
cook, or more especially her lady superior, a cook and
housekeeper, is oofthe
fiction living,—.Lendon Society.
one