The Sun.
London, England, 1865-07-07 00:00:00

MIDDLESEX.

Yesterday afternoon Mr. Robert Hanbury and
Viscount Enfield attended a meeting of electors in
the Uxbridge division of the county of Middlesex,
for the purpose of explaining their past conduct and
soliciting re-election. As this was the first meeting
the late members had attended, and as one of them
has accepted office in connection with her Majesty's
Government since the last general election, the in-
terest excited by the meeting was very great, and
" the public rooms" in which the electors assembled
were well filled.

Mr. DANIEL NORTON, of Ruislip, presided, and
in a few words introduced the candidates.

Mr. R. HANBURY said it gave him the greatest
pleasure to meet the electors once more. Since the
last time he had the honour of addressing them six
years had passed away, and he had consequently had
six more years of Parliamentary life. He thought
he might without hesitation confidently refer to his
votes and his past conduct as having fully carried
out the views which on his election he had
set forth. It would obviously be impossible for him
at the present time to touch even upon the measures
which had been brought in by the present Liberal
Government, and he thought he should hardly be
doing what was right if he did advert to them at
length when a member of her Majesty's Government
was present. In the House of Commons he had con-
stantly watched all those measures, and he believed
they were thoroughly in accordance with the views of
his constituents, while at the same time he believed
they were calculated to advance the welfare and hap-
piness of the country. (Hear.) He need not dwell
on the financial measures of the Government. If
they looked to the National Debt they would find
that six years ago it amounted to £823,000,000,
whereas now it was £808,000,000, showing a de-
crease of £15,000,000. That was one benefit that
, had been derived from the policy of the present
Government. The income tax was 9d. in the pound
when the late Government began its sittings—now
it had been reduced through the financial policy of
the Chancellor of the Exchequer to 4d. Then if
they looked to the commodities chargeable with
Customs' duties they would find that at the begin-
ning of the last Parliament there were 419 such
articles, but the number had now been reduced to
14. With regard to duties repealed, he believed he
might say that taxes to the extent of £9,000,000 had
been repealed since 1850. Soon after the assembling
of the late Parliament there was, as they were aware,
an advanced measure proposed in the shape of a
commercial treaty with France. All knew that they
were indebted for that great measure to that estim-
able and valuable man whose memory they looked
upon with so much respect and esteem, and whose
loss they so deeply deplored. He need scarcely say
that he alluded to the late Mr. Cobden. (Cheers.)
He had always considered that intimate commercial
relations between this and other countries would
cause the best understanding between them, and ne-
cessarily prevent those unhappy differences of which
they had had experience in former years. (Hear.)
He believed that the annual value of the commerce
between the two countries last year was 24 millions,
whereas during this year it amounted to nearly 50
millions sterling. These were some of the benefits
which, as a member of the House of Commons, he
had assisted in carrying out. (Hear, hear.) He (Mr.
Hanbury) had given up as much of his time as he
could well spare to the promotion of this object, for
they must all be aware that in Middlesex it would
be impossible for a man to give up the whole of his
time and attention to one object. He had given up
much time from his commercial pursuits in order
that he might be ready at the call of his constituents
to confer with them as to their local and individual
interests, and he trusted that he had always been
ready to serve them and advance their objects. He
thought that during the last few years they had seen
an almost unrivalled state of prosperity in the coun-
try. Notwithstanding the war in America, not-
withstanding bad harvests, the cotton famine, and
other depressing circumstances, he thought they
could scarcely look back to any six previous years
and say that there had ever been so much prosperity
in the land. (Hear, hear.) He attributed that state
of things greatly to the patient industry of our hard-
working population ; but he thought also it was
essentially due to the careful administration of a
wise and paternal Government, who had done all
they could to raise the people by education, by rais-
ing a band of Volunteers, by establishing Post-office
savings-banks for the labouring classes, and many
other efforts, all having the same object, and all of
which had been crowned with eminent success. The
hon. gentleman concluded by saying that, if the
electors thought well to re-elect him, he would give
his time and whatever ability he possessed for the
benefit of his constituents.

An ELECTOR—If you are returned will you sup-
port an extension of the suffrage—Mr. Baines's bill,
for example?

Mr. HANBURY—I voted in favour of that bill.
An ELEcTon—Will you vote for the repeal of the
malt tax ?

Mr. HANBURY—I have voted for the repeal of al-
most every tax. I don't remember at this moment
whether or not I voted for the repeal of the malt-tax.
(Cries of " Oh, oh !") At all events, Ido not think
the time has come to do away with direct taxation.

An ELECTOR-Will you vote in favour of an in-
spection of nunneries, both Protestant and Roman
Catholic ? •

Mr. HANBURY—Yes ; I voted with Mr. Newdegate
on that subject.

Viscount ENFIELD then rose, and was received
with cheers. He said the electors chose him as their
representative in 1857 and again in 1859. He now
sought at their hands a renewal of that trust. He
believed his political sentiments were pretty well
known to them, for there had been no vote in the
House of Commons in which he had not participated.
(Hear.) It would be for the electors of Middlesex to
say whether or not those votes were in accordance
with their expectations. ("No," and loud cries of
" Yes, yes.") The old watchwords of the Liberal
party still remained, and to them he should continue
to give his firm and unflinching adherence "Peace,"
" Retrenchment," " Reform," "Civil and Religious
Liberty." He did not lightly or without considera-
tion enroll himself under the banner of the Liberal
party, but having done so it was his duty to main-
tain those wathwords of his public life. Since
February last, by the favour of the Crown, he bad
assisted in working out the laws relating to the
poor, and in his capacity of Secretary of the Poor-law
Board had helped to carry through Parliament-two
Acts which he believed would prove of essential
benefit to the country. The first of these was the
Metropolitan llouseless Poor Act, which would
affect London alone ; and the second the Union