The Sun.
London, England, 1839-10-29 00:00:00

AST
jiiiiN LA,IebEI,..L, A! ELLIN6Cii.Gri.

Thursday, Sir John Campbell, her Majesty's Attor-
ney-General, and Member of Parliament for the city of
Edinburgh, was entertained at a public breakfast in
Barry's British Hotel, Queen-street, by a number of his
constituents. About one hundred and forty gentlemen
assembled on the occasion ; and the Lord Provost pre-
sided, being supported on the right by the Attorney-
General, the Solicitor-General for Scotland, Bailie Ram-
say, Professor Wallace, &c. ; and on the left by Sir J.
Gibson Craig, Sir James Spittal, Sir John Graham
Daiyell, &c. After breakfast,
The LORD PROVOST rose and said, he regretted that
owing to the hurried nature of the visit, and the short-
ness of the stay which Sir John Campbell could make,
it was not in the power of the electors to receive him in
the way in which it had hitherto been customary to re-
ceive their representatives in Parliament—(Cheers)—
and the same reason prevented Sir John from waiting
on his constituents individually. He had, therefore,
agreed to meet them here ; and it was gratifying to see
so many gentlemen present on this occasion. Break-
fast though it was, he (the Lord Provost) begged to
propose that the company should drink the health of
her Majesty, to whom they owed so much for her ad-
mirable firmness at a great crisis—who had stamped
the seal of her approbation on an independent and
Liberal Government ; and he was sure the country
would stand by her and give her the support to which
she was so well entitled.—The toast was drank with
all the honours.
The LORD PROVOST-4 now beg to propose the
health of our esteemed guest on my right hand.—(Ap-
plause.) Since he was last among us there has not been
many measures of public interest carried, but I must
say, that during all this time he has devoted his talents
to the discharge of professional duty, honourable to
himself, and useful to the country ; and he has been
constantly and conscientiously discharging his duties in
Parliament as our representative. The Government
did not effect so much during the last session as we
could have wished them to accomplish, but we must re-
collect the obstacles they have had to encounter ; that
they had against them the majority in the House of
Peers,—a majority anxious to thwart all the wishes of
the Ministry, and to bring back the Tories to power.
They had also to contend with a minority—a very
great minority—in the House of Commons ;—great
not in consequence of any reaction in political feeling
in the great constituencies of the empire—not from
any change in public principles, but by the united ex-
ertions of the Tories, strengthened by the strenuous
efforts of wealth and rank swamping the feelings of
the free constituencies of the empire, they were able
to return Tory representatives. But, as has been
well observed, if the Ministry have done nothing else,
they have at least kept the Tories out of office.—
(Hear, hear.) If the Tories had been in office, what
would have been the consequence ? What would have
been the fate of unhappy Ireland ? Would we not have
had the scenes of 1798 reacted ? In this country, where
fears of Chartism prevailed, the same measures would
have been proposed as Mr. Pitt adopted in 1794. The
scaffold,—transportation,—imprisonment,—world have
been the lot of all who dared to differ from the Go-
vernment. Ministers were wiser, and endeavoured
to leave the good sense of the country to operate.
They did not check Chartism by force, but left it to the
people to consider the nature of the addresses that
were delivered to thetis ; and by that means the power
of the Chartists had vanished like smoke.— (Cheers.)
In this matter the Goverment were guided by the
prudent counsels of my Right Honourable Friend.
Much had, indeed, been entrusted to him in the manage-
ment of these affairs, and he had the merit of having
restored peace and tranquillity to the country.—(Great
cheering.) And while thus giving aid to the Govern-
ment, he had not been neglectful of the local interests
of the city. He had taken great interest in a subject
which was of much importance to the city,—the con-
stitution and management of the affairs of the charity
workhouse ; and I have requested his attendance at
various meetings, not merely as to that charity, but as
to the marshes around us, which are such a disgrace to
the city.—(Hear, hear, and cheers.) To effect a remedy
for all these grievances, he is willing to lend us the aid
of his experience and influence. In conclusion, I feel
perfectly satisfied that, while our esteemed represen-
tative attends to the general interests of the State, he
will never neglect our local interests—(Applause)—and
beg you will drink the health of our guest, the Right
Honourable Sir John Campbell.—(Much cheering.)
Sir JOHN CAMPBELL rose and was received with loud
cheers. He said, I beg to return you my warmest
thanks for the honour which you have conferred upon
me—which it is most gratifying to me to receive from
such a numerous and respectable assemblage of the elec-
•ors of Edinburgh. I should be totally devoid of feel-
ing if I were not sensibly touched by the kindness which
you have expressed towards me. I have ever considered
it the greatest felicity of my life that I was elected the
representative of the metropolis of my native country—
and to retain your good opinion must ever be my highest
ambition.—(Cheers.) There was no occasion for an
apology from the Lord Provost, as to the nature of the
entertainment to which I have been invited—for a Scotch
breakfast is celebrated all over the world.—(Laughter.)
Even Dr. Johnson, no great admirer of Scotland, ad-
mitted that the breakfasts in Scotland were the best he
ever tasted. And, I must say, to the credit of Mr.
Barry, that the breakfast of this day does fully support
the honour of Scotland in that distinguished meal.—
(Laughter and cheers.) The Lcird Provost has kindly
expressed his approbation of the Government of which
lam a member. I can only say that, amidst the many
difficulties with which her Majesty's present Ministers
have been surrounded, I believe that their utmost
efforts have ever been, and will continue to be, directed
to promote the good of their country. I believe that
the empire, since I last had the honour of appearing
among my constituents, notwithstanding the obstacles
encountered, has been governed with mildness and with
firmness.—(Cheers.) Peace has been preserved with
all the world, and, I trust, without any loss to the
national dignity of Britain —(Cheers.) The Lord
Provost has referred to a subject which certainly threw
great responsibility upon me, namely, the alarming
symptoms which prevailed in various parts of Great
Britain, from the schemes of great bodies of people
calling themselves Chartists. That was a period of

great alarm. The doctrines which they disseminated
were certainly destructive to the rights of property and
to social order. Their meetings assumed a formidable
aspect. The question was, How shall peace be pre-
served, and the law enforced ? An awful responsi-
bility was cast upon me, for it was by my advice on this
subject that the councils of the Government were to be
regulated.—(Cheers.) For a time great reproach was
cast upon me. Some said we must have new laws of a
coercive nature ; a new system has sprung up in the
country for which the old laws were utterly inade-
quate. Others said we must call in force to put down
their meetings—we must call in the assistance of the
military, and crnsh those who seek to disturb the public
tranquillity. I thought it would be wiser to pursue a
different course—to trust to the good sense of the
people of Great Britain, and to trust to the old common
taw of the land.—(Cheers.) I introduced no new co.
ercive measure into Parliament—l gave no countenance
to the employment of military force. Prosecutions were
instituted according to the established course of legal
proceeding ; and I may state that, without a single ex-
ception, these prosecutions, wherever they were insti-
tuted, have, by the verdicts of juries succeeded.—
(Cheers.) Juries have done their duty, as they always
do, when confidence is reposed in them ; and the con-
sequence has been that, without a single drop of
blood being spilt, tranquillity has been restored.—
(Cheers.) I trust that the advice which I gave
to proceed with forbearance, with firmness, with
moderation, will meet with your approbation—
and that you will not think it was wrong, even
when the capital convictions were obtained, that the
mercy of the Crown should interpose to save the crimi-
nals from that fate which must otherwise have over-
taken them.—(Loud cheers.) We have been taunted
gbryaceoufrromo ppt
ho
en
me s
,—T
haant dw
eI
hmauvset dse anye withaa t
nag
very
ill
he
way of legislation. Now from whom do these taunts
come ? Why, from those very men who prevented
all further improvement in our institutions, by the most
determined resolution,—as far as their influence ex-
tends,—that legislation should not proceed at all.—
They first mar our measures ; and then complain
that measures have not been carried into effect, by
which our institutions might be improved. Really
those who hold such language,—the leaders of the
Tory party,—who bring these charges against us, seem
to be persons who should first massacre our children,
and then taunt us with being childless.—(Laugh-
ter.) Measures were brought into the House of Com-
mons, but which did not make any great progress on
account of the opposition they met with. There was a
long list of Bills which actually passed the House of
Commons, and which were sent to the House of Lords.
and what became of them there ? Why, they were
smashed by those very men who at the end of the
session, say that the Government have done nothing.
I shall just mention to you, by way of specimen one or
two of those Bills. There was first, a Bill for the im-
provement of the Court of Admiralty in England.
It never came back to the House of Commons ; but
it was rejected by those who now say that the Go-
vernment has done nothing for the improvement of
the country. There was another Bill, in which
Edinburgh was interested, and to which, from local
as well as from public considerations, I gave my
warmest support. It was a Bill to allow bonded
warehouses to be established in towns which were not
sea-ports. Edinburgh is not a sea, port ; for its har-
bour does not happen to come up to the Cowgate or
the Grassmarket—(Laughter)—and, therefore, it is
without the benefit of the bonded system. The Bill
passed the House of Commons, which would have
materially assisted the commerce of the city, and of
various other towns thrcughout the empire, such as
Manchester, Birmingham, and several other towns.
But that Bill had been rejected by those who now com-
plain that the Government has done nothing. There
was another Bill in which the whole community were