The Sun.
London, England, 1865-12-15 00:00:00

- -
Liberal Demonstration at Dewsbury.

Wednesday a demonstration took place at Dews-
bury in celebration of the return:of Vis,;ount Milton
and Mr. H. F. Beaumont as representatives of the
southern division of the West Riding of Yorkshire.
A cold collation was served in the Wesl4an Sunday
school, to which about 300 gentlemen sat down.
The Mayor of Dewsbury (R. H. Ellis, Esq.) presided,
and was supported by Earl Fitzwilliam, Earl De
Grey and Ripon, the Marquis of Sligo, Lord Hough-
ton ; Viscount Milton, M.P. ; Lord F. C. Cavendish,
M.P. ; the Hon. C. W. W. Fitzwilliam, M.P. ; Sir
F. Crossley, Bart., M.P. ; Mr. W. B. Beaumont,
M.P. ; Mr. W. H. Leatham, M.P. ; Mr. F. J. S.
Foljambe, M.P. ; and the Right Hon. J. Parker.
After the repast, the usual loyal toasts were duly
honoured, after which Mr. Foljambe, M.P., proposed
" The Army, Navy, and Volunteers," to which
Capt. Beaumont, of the Royal Engineers, responded.
" The Bishop and Clergy of the Diocese and the

Ministers of all Denominations" having been pro-

posed, the Chairman read several letters of apology
from gentlemen who were not able to attend. Mr.
H. F. Beaumont, M.P., wrote to say that he was
imperatively forbidden by his surgeon to move from
his sofa under the penalty of being unfit for his
duties at the meeting of Parliament. His disappoint-
ment was very great, because he felt deeply, not
only the honour done to himself and his colleague
by their friends and supporters, but also because
that dinner was the celebration of the triumph of
the Liberal cause in South Yorkshire. Mr. W. E.
Gladstone, M.P.; wrote that he viewed the return
of Lord Milton and Mr. Beaumont as a most
signal triumph, indicating alike the energy and
judgment of those who achieved it—(applause) ;
but connected as he now was with a district of large
population, and with many public calls upon him,
he had no hopes of being able, especially at present,
to accept any engagement for such a celebration
elsewhere.—The Chairman afterwards proposed the
toast of the evening, which was received with en=
thusiasm.—Viscourit Milton, in responding to the
toast, said that he had the most perfect-confidence
in the Government. They had at the head of it a
nobleman who was foremost as a reformer.--(llear,
hear.) He had many years rested from his reform
labours, and, doubtless, felt thankful for the rest he
had enjoyed. (Laughter.) He had now come back
to the work in which he had so much experience,
and had already taken a leading part with renewed
strength and vigour. (Hear, and applause.)--Mr.
S. Beaumont returned thanks on behalf of his cousin.
—Sir F. Crossley, in a long speech, proposed " Her
Majesty's Ministers." (Applause.)
Earl DE GREY and RIPON, in responding to the
toast, said he regretted that it had fallen into his
hands, in consequence of the forced absence of his
right hon. friend Sir C. Wood. (Hear, hear.) They
all knew the deep interest which the right hon.
baronet felt in everything which concerned the wel-
fare of the Liberal party in the West Riding, and
that nothing but an imperative necessity would
have kept him from being present that day. (Ap-
plause.) He rejoiced to think that they might all
hope that the forced inaction of the last few weeks
would rapidly pass away, and that in a short
time his right hon. friend would he restored to
them in good health and fit for work again.
(Applause.) There were many circumstances
which brought back to him (Lord De Grey), in
responding to this toast, forcibly and at once, the
recollection of the great loss which the Government,
the Liberal party, and the country had recently sus-
tained. (Hear, hear.) It was difficult for him to
.speak in terms which would adequately represent
his own feeling of the magnitude of that loss. To
those who had been the colleagues of Lord Palmer-
ston, and bad had the benefit in their councils,
upon great and difficult questions, of his guidance,
• of the result of his long and stored experience, of
his singular tact and knowledge of political affairs,
of his thoroughly English spirit—the loss could not
be measured or described in words. He, however,
believed it had been felt throughout the country as
the common loss of men of all parties and all sec-
tions; and that when Lord Palmerston passed away
from them, from one end of the country to the
other it was felt that England had lost one of her
foremost sons. (Applause.) With such a loss, and
with so many important and difficult questions with
which the Government of this country must deal in
the new Parliament, they would well believe that
the task before the Government was felt by them to
be one of great magnitude and difficulty. But he
believed there was none in the Liberal party, he
thought there were but few in the country, who did
not agree in thinking that the choice which was
made by Her Majesty in the exercise of her preroga-
tive, when she called upon Earl Russell to take the
place of Lord Palmerston, was the best that could
have been made under the circumstances. (Applause.)
Neither didhe think. they w ouldbe inclined to contest
that Earl Russell was right in turning to Mr. Glad-
stone and asking him to take the lead in the house
of Commons. (Applause.) Those who had pre-
ceded him that evening had spoken in terms of just
eulogy of the long political career of Earl Russell.
They had reminded the meeting how from those
early days, before the happy time of Parliamentary
reform, he was the foremost one of a small but
persevering minority of Liberals, he had steadily
pursued a uniform course, and had been the con-
sistent and unflinching advocate of freedom and
reform. (Hear, hear.) When Sir F. Crossley
spoke of him as the father of the Reform Bill of
1832, the thought passed through his (Earl De
Grey's) mind that many a man who had taken a
leading part in carrying that measure might be in-
clined to think that he had done enough by taking
part in that great work, and might be inclined to
view his political child grown up to manhood, and
having worked since his birth so many great and
important results, as a child so fair and so perfect
that it was treason to say that any improvement
could be made. (Hear, hear.) But they knew
fromlis past career that Earl Russell was not the
man to take that view of public questions. They
knew that Earl Russell was awake to the require-
xnents of the time, and that he was ever prepared to
give his early and full consideration, his advocacy
and support, to those successive Liberal measures
of advance and progress which the advancing times
might require. (Hear, hear.) He could not help
fancying in some of the remarks which had been
made that some of the speakers
towtehrreo
win:lflm.
ye
inclined
to
treat him as a large trout, and
him, in the hope that he might rise at it, and
might make some gushing disclosures of the in-
tentions of her Majesty's Government. (Laughter
and applause.) But he was too old a trout
to be caught with that fly. Her Majesty's
Government would be prepared to answer any in..
quirks which Lord Milton might address to them in
the House of Commons, but until he arrived upon
that floor, and had gone through the ceremony of
completing his position as a member of Parliament
by taking the oaths, he (Lord De Grey) must de-
cline to reply to any inquiries which their noble re-
presentative might make. But for all that he was
inclined to think that her Majesty's Government, as
now constituted, might be allowed to ask for con-.
enee and consideration at the hands of the great
Liberal
Ptrty.
a man of (Applause.) He did not believe that
any party would be inclined to refuse the
Government that fair trial for which Earl Russell
had asked. But if he had not misinterpreted the
remarks which had been made that evening, he ven-
tured to hope that they were inclined to
regard the
21inistry (at all events until they saw the course
which the Ministry
was about tospirit
itii(act
up of
pursue)
not with a
cold and criticising eye, but with
confi-
dence, and ;L belief that they v
to th
e
principles which they had all professed.
(Cheers.)
They did not claim that that confidence should be
extended to them if their acts were not consistent
with their principles—(icar, hear)----or ify did
not uphold those great Liberal principla;l;hich
bound their party together, and of -which they
ought to be the representatives ; but they did ask
that the country should accord toein that mea-
sure of confidence which, in r of those who
were their leaders in either if- -titto of E:arliament,
they thought they' „had a right to ask.
(Applause.) Sir F. Crossley having cast
vainly his
large
fly, put on a small one, and
tried to tickle him (Lord De Grey) upon
a subject pa
which he must be peculiarly