The Sun.
London, England, 1865-12-05 00:00:00

gard to a subscription of this magnitude—for a very
great portion of this we are certainly indebted to
the care, unceasing energy, and the vigilar ce which
have been displayed by Mr. Maclure ; and it was
the opinion of the Central Executive Committee, the
general opinion—I may say the unanimous opinion
—that it would be a matter of positive ingratitude
if at the period at which we have arrived, even
although we are not possibly arrived at- the final
conclusion of our labours, we were longer to defer
such a recognition of his services as it is felt that
they were fully and amply entitled to. (Applause.)
I must say also that the question having been raised
whether it was competent or whether it was desir-
able that any portion of the public funds should be
taken, in order not to remunerate—because, really,
the services are beyond pecuniary remuneration—
but to recognise the services which have been so
rendered. The moment the question was raised Mr.
Maclure authorised it to be said that under no cir-
cumstances would he receive a single shilling in re-
muneration of his services from the funds which
have been subscribed by the public. (Hear, hear.)
That being the case, and, at the same time desirous
of showing our esteem for Mr. Maclure, and the
value attaching to his services—in many cases ser-
vices which may have brought down upon him no
inconsiderable amount of unpopularity—l am not
speaking of unpopularity in the committee or I am
sure here, but I mean in those local districts in
-which they felt the pressure put upon them by the
Central Committee, and of which Mr. Maclure, as
the secretary, probably had to bear the whole brunt
—we felt that it would be impossible for us
longer to delay the expression of our own opinion,
and, consequently, in the Executive Committee, it
was agreed that we should subscribe among our-
selves, as from the Central Executive Committee, a
sum of money sufficient to give to Mr. Maclure a
very handsome testimonial of our esteem and our
gratitude, and at the same time accompany it with
a substantial testimony in the shape of a sum of
money in addition to whatever testimonial might be
finally decided upon.
Mr. J. A. BREMNER said the special recognition.
of the special claim which Mr. Maclure had upon
the committee was not confined to that room it
extended not only throughout Manchester, but the
neighbouring town. If the Machine Testimonial
were to extend over a greater area and include the
neighbouring districts, it would be, no doubt, unani-
mously supported. (He (Mr. Bremner) therefore
proposed the appointment of a sub-committee to
take such steps as might be deemed advisable to
secure the contributions of the various committees
in Lancashire and throughout the kingdom to pre-
sent to Mr. Maclure a fitting testimonial.

Dr. J. WATTS seconded the motion. He said he
trusted the testimonial would not go beyond Lan-
cashire. It would be a great pity to hawk it about,
for certainly there would be no need of it.

Lord DERBY said it was due to Mr. Maclure to
say he had expressed a very anxious wish that the
begging-box should not be sent round, and that
there should be no canvassing in the matter.
Mr. E. W. WATKIN, M.P., said Dr. Watts had
apparently forgotten that there was cotton spinning
in Cheshire as well as in Lancashire. He (Mr. Wat-
kin) should be sorry if the county he partly repre-
sented were shut out from a share in this testimo-
nial. His constituents at Stockport had asked him
to attend the meeting to render what assistance he
could. For himself, he should be happy to allow
his name to be put down for a sum equal to the
highest subscription. When the great services Mr.
Maclure had rendered were considered it was cer-
tain there would be no difficulty in carrying out the
proposed object. We ought to encourage our young
men who were willing to come forward in times of
difficulty like that through which we had recently
passed. (Hear.)
The resolution was carried unanimously, and the
Chairman said that the business of the meeting was
concluded.

Dr. WATTS said he wished to say that, contem-
plating this as the last meeting of the committee, he
had, without consulting any one, drawn up a reso-
lution which he would now submit. It was :
" That the hearty thanks of the committee are due,
and are hereby given, to the Right Hon. the Earl of
Derby, Chairman of the Central Executive, who by
his high position and great influence and personal
attendance did much to secure the confidence of the
public in the committee ; to Sir J. Kay-Shuttle-
worth, Vice-Chairman, whose previous official expe-
rience and great executive powers have been most
valuable during three and a half years of constant
labour and anxiety ; to Mr. J. W. Maclure, hon.
secretary, whose constant supervision and untiring
energy and activity in the service of the committee
have been unparalleled, and whose statistical reports
will be most valuable as references to future histo-
rians of Lancashire; and to the other members of the
Central Executive for their great and efficient services
in the distribution of thelargest benevolent fund upon
record." Every one (Dr. Watts added) would feel
that, constituted as the Central Executive Com-
mittee had been, it had proved an immense power,
and that if its constitution had been different the
work which had been so efficiently and thoroughly
performed would have been a more difficult task.
Every member of the committee might with justice
have been added to the resolution ; he had been
almost the only grumbler, and he hoped he was
given credit for wishing only what the committee
themselves wished, that the fund should be so effi-
ciently distributed so as to leave the population of
the cotton district on the return of prosperity as
much as possible in their normal condition, not only
as regarded their material but moral condition. It
had been gratifying to find that every successive
report on the subject of criminality had shown less
crime than in the normal condition of the trade,
sexual immorality had not increased, and open
prostitution had actually decreased. That these
circumstances should have obtained during such a
crisis showed a great amount of good character on
the part of the people, and an immense amount of
wisdom, forethought, and proper control on the
part of the committee, who had distributed such
a large fund with a minimum of evil, if any evil
was attached to such doles. Feeling this he could
not allow the committee to separate without sub-
mitting as a special resolution that which he had
read. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. Councilleir BUMSEY seconded the motion,
which was carried unanimously.
Lord DERBY—I presume that it devolves upon
me as having been the chairman of the Executive
Committee, whose labours I hope are now almost,
if not finally terminated, to return to you ourthanks
' for the manner in which you have acknowledged the
services which it has been in our power to render
from time to time. But for my own part, I must
disclaim the amount of merit which is attributed to
me by the resolution, for, in point of fact, my labours
have been very slight. They have consisted merely
in attending, when more imperative duties did not
call me elsewhere, once a week at the meetings of
the Executive Committee, and there presiding over
a body composed
ligious opinions, but actin
of men of various political and re-
g together with a unani-
mity, cordiality, and
harmonyamer wbhoidcihes.verny seelhdoarm.
are to be found even in
mony and unanimity are due not to the Chairman
or to any influence he might possess, but to the
general feeling which pervaded all members of that
committee, that they were working in one common
cause, in which they had one common interest and
one common duty to perform; and to the perform-
ance of that duty I am satisfied that each and every
one of that committee have sacrificed every other
feeling, feeling it was imperative upon them to
contribute anything they could do towards the re-
lief of a distress so great and unparalleled as that
through which this country has recently passed.
The best reward we can hope for for any services
which we may have been enabled to render is in the
first place to think that those services have been
effectual, that they have to a great extent mitigated
the pressure of that distress which this county has
suffered, and that they have been accompanied with
less of evil or less of ill consequences than might
have been expected from the conduct of an experi-
ment so novel, and at the same time so large. Next
to the delight of having contributed to the general
good of the country must be the satisfaction we feel
awthothme confidence which you, gentlemen, under
we have been acting have been pleased to re-