The Sun.
London, England, 1863-10-02 00:00:00

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PR1CX.....-_..4d.
STAMPED ....sd.

Mr. Bentinek, HP.. on Foreign and liome
Affairs.

Last evening the Marshland Agricultural Asso-
ciation held its annual dinner at Terrington, St.
Cletnent'e, near King's Lynn, the Rector of Hillin .1.-
ton, the Rev. H, Flokes, presiding. Mr. G. W. P.
I3entinck; M.P., and Mr. B. Gurdon, M.P., were
amongst the company. In reply to the toast of his
health,

Mr. BENTINCK said—Gentlemen, you cannot for-
get that we all have our opponents, and that even
agricultural associations have theirs ; and amongst
the various opponents we have had no more active
nor powerful one than the limes newspaper. There
are, probably, very few present who do not read the
limes, and I will appeal to you whether we have
not seen in the course of the last few years a series
of attacks upon associations of this kind, upon the
objects for which they were instituted, and upon the
results which were likely to accrue from them. Now,
gentlemen, that newspaper is a very powerful an-
tagonist. It is powerful from its wide circulation—
it is powerful from the almost unrivalled ability of
its writers, and it is also powerful from the equally
unrivalled power of sarcasm and sophistry which it
brings to bear upon every question with which it
deals. (Hear, hear.) I would ask you to remember
that the Times, though professing to be the organ
of public opinion, is more especially and notoriously
the organ of those who financially, and, therefore
politically, are the avowed antagonists, and I might
almost say the enemies, of the rural districts of this
country. It is the organ of the great capitalists.
It is the organ of those whose interest it is to see
dear money and cheap labour. Now I apprehend
that the interests of the rural districts is to see
cheap money with a remunerative result for labour,
and the produce of that labour; and I venture to
say to you, and I appeal to the proof of history,
that there is no country in the world which may
not be tested by that result. Wherever you find a
full remuneration for labour, and for the produce
of labour, you will find the wealth and the pros-
perity of that country on the increase ; wherever
you find the value of labour, consequent
upon the decrease of the value of the produce of
that labour, falling, you will find disaster. That I
hold to be an axiom which no one will venture to
dispute, and if he does dispute it he will dispute the
history of the world. I have always considered
that the interests of the landowner, of the occupier,
and of the agricultural labourer, are one and iden-
tical. (Cheers.) They are inseparable; they cling
together by the closest ties, and there is but this
distinction between them—that, unfortunately, in
this world the man who has the least feels the
pinch the soonest. With that exception, I for one
contend that there is no possible distinction to be
drawn between the interests of the landowner, the
occupier, and the agricultural labourer. They must
sink or swim together. When one does well, all do
well ; when one does badly, all do badly ; and it is
by their union that they can preserve their position
in the country. The gimes—acting wisely, I ad-
mit, in its own generation—has endeavoured to sow
dissension among those classes ; it has endeavoured
to show that these associations were got up for sel-
fish and for useless purposes, and that the rewards
offered were inadequate to the merit of the services
which were praised. I venture to think for one
that those attempts will fail throughout the rural
districts of this country ; and I will only ask you to
remember when you read the limes—however much
interested you may be by the great ability of the
writers, however much amused you may be by
the amount of sarcasm and sophistry which they
bring to bear upon this question—that it is an ex-
ponent of an interest, numerically small, though
powerful from its wealth, but which is antagonistic
to the interests of the rural districts of this coun-
try. Now, gentlemen, the last time I had the
good fortune to be present on the occasion of the
meeting of the Marshland Agricultural Associa-
tion I ventured to address you upon the subject
of the war which is now raging in the northern
continent of America, and I then expressed the
opinion that the policy, and I thought the duty, of
this country was at once to recognise the indepen-
dence of the Southern States of America. (Hear,
hear.) I think that the result has shown I was
right. We have all been horrified for two years
past by the tyranny practised by President
Lincoln, and by the brutalities of General
Butler. (Hear, hear.) I think there is justly no
limit to the strong expression of disgust with which
the accounts of the transactions in that country
have been received in what I, in contradistinction
to them, will term the civilised world. We as
Englishmen have learned that we ought to be
thankful for those monarchical institutions under
which this country, thanks to Providence, has en-
joyed the greatest amount of rational liberty ever
known to any country in the world. (Cheers.) And
whenever the time comes when we are called upon
to discuss a question of—l will not use a word
which creates alarm sometimes in public assem-
blages—but whenever we are again called upon to
discuss the question of any revision of our institu-
tions—l will put it in that more circuitous form—
I venture to think that, without reference to party,
there are very few present here, or anywhere in
England—excepting one particular party, which I
am sure is not represented here—who will not at
once say, " Let us be careful before we tamper
rashly with those institutions under which we have
enjoyed sach manifold blessings." (Cheers.) But,
gentlemen, since I had the honour of addressing
you last, very nearly in the same locality, a new
subject has arisen, certainly of equal interest, and
perhaps, as far as this country is concerned,of almost
equal importance—l refer to what is going on in
Poland. Now there can be no doubt, if we could
deal with every question in the abstract, upon its
own merits, that there are few men in England
who would not say, and who do not say, that they
deeply deplore the sufferings of the Poles ; that
they deeply lament the course which has been
taken by Russia in dealing with her Polish sub-
jects; that they, as Englishmen and lovers of
freedom, would do all in their power to alle-
viate the sufferings of those people. In that
sentiment I in the fullest degree coincide; but un-
fortunately it is utterly impossible to deal with any
great public question upon that limited, though
natural view of the subject. We must go farther
into the question. We must see first what has
given rise to the state of things which we lament,
and we then are bound as Englishmen to ask our-
selves next what will be the effect of our conduct
in dealing with this question upon the welfare and
the prosperity of our own country. The hon.
gentleman .then went on to give his views as to
the cause of the present condition of things in
Poland. He considered that the insurrection was
not brought about the oppression of Russia, but by
the machinations of the Church of Rome. France's
sympathy for Poland he believed to be entirely a
selfish one; and he was, for both those reasons,
glad that England had expressly declared her
determination not to involve herself in a European
quarrel on account of Poland. Referring to bowine
unrestricted
questions, the hon. gentleman continued asollo follows
If free trade means anything—it means
un
competition. Very good. Now what _
does
stricted competition mean ? I apereue-nd.',.with out
pre
iuming to have discovered any new heans upon
the subject, that unrestricted competition means at
least this—that if you are net to have the benefit of
protective duties, that at least :In bringing
" to
market the produce of your industry, you shall
have no antagonistic
impediment in in operation
with other n •
that you shall start fair
in the market of the world, and that neither
favour nor affection shall be shown to one side or
the other. I think it would be a work of superero-
gation to 5,k such an asaerably as that I have now
the honour of e.ddresaing if they are aware of the
fact that, out of the large revenue collected in this
country, five millions are derived from the duties on

i~

malt. (Hear.) Those duties on malt so derived
constitute a direct tax upon one of the most import-
ant of our cereal products. Take off those duties,
Ind not only the value of that produce would he
increased, but the sale for it would be enormously
extended. Well, do you call that unrestricted com-
petition ? Is that carrying out the principle of free
trade ? Now, take Ireland, and take some portions
of England, as illustrating another part of the
question of free trade. lam prepared to say that
there is a great district in Ireland, and there is a
certain extent of laud in England, which could
grow to a much greater profit than it can any other
produce—tobacco. Now, how do you stand with
regard to tobacco ? Mind you, free trade—no pro-
tection—but unrestricted competition in the market
to all competitors. Well, you stand in this position,
that:a stilt larger amountof duty is levied every year
for the revenue by the prohibition that you shall
utilise the soil of this country for the growth of to-
bacco, in order. that you may levy a customs duty
of so many millions a year upon the importation of
foreign tobacco. 'Well, is that unrestricted corn-
petition? Bat Igo further, gentlemen, I ask
you is it common sense—ls it reasonable ?Is it
rational? Is it tolerable ? But thinking as strongly
as I do upon the wrongs of the rural districts, I
would ask, is there
any other interest in this coun-
try to be found which would
submit for one boor
your own battles
or for one minute to the intolerable injustice which
(Cheers.) I have just bought before you ? fl/4,ueers.) We have
onlywith ourselvesmeans
so
I; blame.hiehy 0
Fight
uhave.
Disregard all
est of the rural
questions of party and fight the inter
districts of this country. Whenever the time comes
for the revision of the representation, bear this fact
in mind—that there is but one real grievance
now
existing which requires a remedy, and that is the
inadequate representation of the rural districts.
Bear this in mind; fight your battle now to a man
without flinching. Whenever you have to discuss
the question of reform, say at once, "We are the
majority of the people of England, and no reform
shall take place till our grievances have been
remedied."

Mr. BRAMPTON GURDON, M.P., also responded
to the toast, and said that though a member of Par-
liament would ill fulfil the duties of his situation if
he did not do his best to support the agricultural
interest, his experience warned him that to rely upon
any extraneous assistance from what Parliament
could do, or was likely to do, would prove again, as
it had done before, a broken reed.

Naval and Military Intelligence.

THE NAVY.

Lieut. Wm. H. Liddell and Lient. Fred. C. B.
Robinson were yesterday promoted to the rank of
commanders.

The following appointments were made yester-
day at the Admiralty ;—The Rev. W. V. Lloyd,
chaplain and naval instructor to the Scylla ; John
Tweedie, paymaster to the Hogue; James W.
Ozzard, paymaster to the Victory ; and Arthur C.
Dowdell, second master to the Supply.

THE ARMY.
Col. Hawkins yesterday took he command of the
Royal Engineer Department at Woolwich, in suc-
cession to Col. Ford, appointed to the command of
the corps in Canada. On Col. Ford's forthcoming
departure from Woolwich having been made known
the members of the local Board of Health repre-
senting the Town Commissioners convoked a meet-
ing, and drew up a memorial expressing their thanks
to the gallant colonel for the valuable assistance
rendered by him on the various questions which
have arisen during his term of office.
Lieut.-Col. Campbell, R.A., a member of the select
committee of Woolwich Arsenal, having been ap-
pointed Superintendent of the Royal Gun Factories,
yesterday assumed the duties of the department.
The B battery 9th Brigade Royal Artillery is
under orders to leave Woolwich to-morrow, on a
four days' march, to Hilsea barracks, Portsmouth.
The officers commanding the battery are as follows :
—Major Milman (on leave) ; Capts. Whinyates and
and Sadleir ; Lieuts, Blackwood and Brodie.
A number of passed recruits of the Royal Artil-
lery, numbering 153, in command of Capt. Stewart,
arrived at headquarters, Woolwich, from Warley,
yesterday- They were distributed in nearly equal
numbers in the A, B, and C batteries.
The commodious pile of buildings which have
been for some time in progress at Chatham, to be
used as a gymnasium for carrying on the physical
training of the officers and troops at that garrison,
are now completed, and, in accordance with the
terms of the contract, will be handed over to the
War Department on the 12th, at which date they
will be ready to be taken possession of by the mili-
tary authorities at the garrison. The building is
the first of several of a similar kind, which, should
the experiment about to be carried out at Chatham
be found to answer, will be erected at each of the
great military stations. It has been erected in a
very substantial manner by the contractor, Mr.
Alfred Matthews, of Dover, from designs prepared
at the Royal Engineer-office, Chatham, under the
direction of Colonel J. Twiss, commanding Royal
Engineer, and its total cost, exclusive of the requi-
site fitments, &c., will be about £5,000.
In compliance with the orders received some time
since from the Horse Guards the staff of the Invalid
depot at St. Mary's barracks, Chatham, has been
broken up, and yesterday the portions of the esta-
blishment hitherto set apart for the transaction of
the official business connected with the invalid
depot, passed into the hands of the garrison barrack-
master's staff, preparatory to the necessary altera-
tions being carried out to adapt the various build-
ings for the reception of regular troops. For some
time past a number of workmen have been employed
at the barracks in making various alterations, pro-
viding extra ventilation, and carrying out other
improvements, most of which were suggested by the
Army Sanitary Commissioners on the occasion of
their last visit to Chatham.

Social Science Meeting in Edinburgh,

The forthcoming meeting of the Social Science
Association promises to be very successful bodthi. e
regards the number of members attending an.
been
papers to be read. Several papers on subjects
r bbeen
ing more or less directly upon agriculture have
.0 by
forwarded to the secretary; among these.:o:"
tion of
Mr. Torrens " On Conveyancing by Registration
act in
Titles as in operation in Australia."
Australia was
operation in the colony of South s
•of the •
given some time ago in the columns
read a paper
Agriculturist. Professor Gamgeeo'a "
The Use and
on " Diseases in Cattle ;" andiotinierai
Mr. Scot Skir-
Mr.
Practice ;,,
Abuse of Poisons in Agriatione
on " The Condi-
George Hope, Fentonbarnso,s;o mr. J. Robb,
Edin.
" The Condi-
ad•un°;aper on
tions of Agricultural So, o_ee__ses.o
burgh, one on i, Hinds
ving, Campton, will read
of Scotland." We
Condi-
tion of the Rural La
0.
.r.r Thos. Apc •
ornbie, of Mel-
understand that the Ho
n•
ad two .• - --one on " Gold Dis-
bourne, is to. read
upon Prices and Commerce;'
coveries, their,,.../lenai
Discipline.' There are seven
the other oo r
theiatter subject • b • , besides the one by Mr.
papers °F there is one by
m‘comble, iki Mr. Torrens, one by the
_...n. r. Adderley, M.P. one by Mr.
Right xi'•
The
Reason, ,-;-c• committee have agreed to set
Monday apart for the reading of the papers on
‘, penal Discipline•—the Whole of the papers are
to be read, and then the discussion will take place
upon them.—N. B. Agriculturist.

'D
°PULAR IDEA OF A PENNY-A-LINER—
HUtnOroUsIy described by Mr. Sala at p. 166 of his
" Bicakfast in Bed."—The gluttonous, bibulous, incon-
stant, ungrateful British Public have taken it into their
conceited heads that an occasional reporter is necessarily a
ragged creature, with a soiled note-book, a battered hat,
and a bulging umbrella ; a kind of cross between Paul Pry,
a detective polic.man, and a man in possession.
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`~F~',