The Sun.
London, England, 1865-06-03 00:00:00

DOVER.

On Thursday evening a large and influential meet-
ing of the Liberal party was held in the Town-hall.
The meeting was convened to hear the exposition of
the political views of Viscount Bury, M.P., and Mr.
Eustace Smith, who offered themselves as candi-
dates in the Liberal interest. Mr. S. Finnis, the
chairman of the Liberal Committee, presided.
Lord BURY, after a few introductory remarks,
said—Neither I nor my friend Mr. Eustace Smith
have put forth, at present, any address. We are
invited to come forward by the Liberal Committee,
but the Liberal Committee told us with great fair-
ness that they could not answer for the Liberal
party of Dover. All they could do was to obtain
for us a fair hearing in speaking for ourselves, and
to ask you to adopt us as your candidates.
(Cheers.) I can hardly presume, perhaps,
at this moment before you have even se-
lected me as your candidate to institute any
comparison between the position in which I find
myself placed and the position of the gentlemen
who are now really candidates for Dover. But I
feel quite confident that whether you select Mr.
Eustace Smith and myself or not, they at any rate
will not be the members for Dover, and you will
certainly select as your representatives men belong-
ing, not the party of obstruction, but to the party
of progress. (Cheers). I observed in the address
of Major Dickson that he said he is not opposed to
Reform, but that, on the contrary, he is in fa-
vour of it. But I read Major Dickson's speech
from the beginning to the end of it with very con-
siderable care, and I could not find out what his
opinions really were. It is perfectly true he tells us
that he is not opposed to Reform, and no one can
differ from him when he says that no Englishman
can be found who believes that the constitution under
which he lives is so absolutely faultless as not by any
possibility to be improved. Major Dickson must, of
course, agree with every other Englishman in
thinking that. But, coming to prantice, would he
give us any measure of Reform, or would he, if
elected for Dover, ally himself with that party of
obstructive politicians who, whenever there is an
occasion on which it is possible for the Liberal party!
to be delayed or obstructed, are ever ready with
their obstruction ? Is there any doubt to which
party Major Dickson would give his adherence ?
Now, I come before you aaa supporter of the states-
man whose portrait hangs upon your walls—Lord
Palmerston. During the last six years he has been
in power the Government of the country has marched
steadily onward. You have found that all measures
which could improve the condition of the country,
or conduce to her honour and glory, have been
steadily pursued by that great statesman. When
you look to the opposite party you find that from
first to last every great measure which has been
brought forward has been received by them with
entire disapproval. They have tried to resist each
as long as they could, and when they have found it
impossible longer to resist, and they have had to
succumb to the influence which has pushed them
forward, they have turned round and taken credit
for the position of the country as if they themselves
had been the persons who had brought such a state
of things about. (Hear.) Passing from Major
Dickson, then, I come to the other gentleman, Mr.
Freshfield, whose address is before you. I find
that after he has talked about supporting the trade
of the country, or given expression to some such
vague generality, easily enough put into an election
bill, he declares it impossible to state his opinions
within the narrow limits of an address, and that he
hopes soon to have an opportunity of addressing a
meeting of the electors. That meeting has now
taken place, and I must confess that I read Mr.
Freshfield's speech with considerable curiosity and
interest. He told us a great deal of how many
tons of goods pass over the line of railway of
which he is solicitor, and that he would never
rest satisfied till that tonnage was doubled. This
was no doubt exceedingly interesting to his hearers,
but does it give him any claim to sit in Parliament
for the borough of Dover? (Hear, hear.) Towards
the end of his address he said that his hon. colleague
had addressed the meeting at such length that he
had no time to detail what his sentiments were ;
and he wound up his speech absolutely without one
single word on the general politics of the day. The
meeting he was addressing were kind enough to pass
a vote of confidence in him and accept him as a
candidate without knowing what his opinions were,
unless, indeed, it may be possible that they had
some peculiar means of information of which I have
heard nothing, and which is not allowed to get into
the public prints. (Hear.) At any rate, wanting
that information which I think you have a right to
demand, I do not myself see that he can compare
with any advantage with men who come forward
and state honestly what their opinions are. (Cheers.)
Now, gentlemen, to refer to one great topic on
which you are interested, the question of church
rates, a great deal has been said in favour of Mr.
Freshfield's view--a compromise that shall be at
once acceptable to Dissenters and Churchmen.
There is not'such a course ; there is no middle course.
The only course open to you is to remove church
rates altogether. By their abolition every clergy-
man in the Church of England would find his hands
strengthened and his power of persuasiveness in this
direction increased. Another great question is the
question of Reform. On that I shall speak very
briefly, but very plainly and straightforwardly. 1
hold that the suffrage is a trust given by society to
its members to be used for the benefit of all; that
every class ought to be called upon to bear its due
share of the responsibility as well as the honours
attached to it ; that every class ought to be ad-
mitted to a fair share of the representation, and not
to more than a fair share. For that purpose it is
necessary to have a well considered plan for ex-
tending the suffrage and taking in those at present
excluded. No doubt you are all aware that a
commission is about to be moved for by Lord
Elcho to inquire into this subject. If that com-
mission be appointed, and I believe it will be, and
if the inquiry is conducted, as I hope it will be, by
some of the best qualified men England possesses,
I am sure we shall arrive at a proper solution of a
question which presents difficulties only in name,
and which may be settled by a little good humour,
and a little giving and taking on both sides. These
are my sentments on Reform, and I trust they will
be such as to meet your approval. I have no wish
to go into Parliament as a pledged delegate for any
particular cry. I want to set fully and franky be-
fore you all that passes through my mind on the
great questions of the day, leaving you to determine
. after hearing a summary of my views, whether I
am fitted as a candidate for your representation. I
have just been reminded that I have omitted to
refer to Free Trade and the blessings which have
been brought upon this country from a Free-trade
policy being carried out. If you want an extension
of that policy, if you want the commerce of the
country to be regulated by men who have hitherto
proved themselves in troubled times and times of
difficulty and danger fitted for the post, you must
return Liberals to represent your borough in Par-
liament. (Cheers.) With regard to foreign policy,
I believe that we have to thank Lord Palmerston's
Government for our having maintained a state of
absolute neutrality. If Lord Derby had been in
office can you doubt that we should have been in-
volved in more than one struggle ? The Union
Chargeability Bill I think to be one of the greatest
free-trade measures we have had for a very long
time introduced into Parliament. I wish to see also
some of the principles of this bill extended, and the
whole question of the law of settlement considered
with a view to its being re-adjusted. [Lord Bury,
after alluding to the efforts made by the present
Government to diffuse education, and promising to
give his best attention to local interests, in the event
of his election, resumed his seat amid most enthu-
siastic cheering.]
Mr. EUSTACE SMMI said—l come before you in
a measure unprepared, and you will doubtless under-
stand this when I tell you that three nights ago I
slept at • Constantinople, and that I have to-day
come from Paris. I hope, therefore, you will excuse
me if I do not dwell at great length on the sub-
jects upon which I desire to address you. The
first is the great question of Reform. During the
past four Sessions a great many schemes of Reform
have been mooted and a great many promises have