The Sun.
London, England, 1865-06-02 00:00:00

I am not going to touch upon political topics, for
there would be too many of them. I would just
refer, however, to the Permissive Bill, and I will do
so but briefly, as I hope on a future occasion to have
an opportunity of stating my views upon it more at
length ; but I will take this opportunity of saying
that lam against the Permissive Bill. (Cheers.) I
think it unjust in principle, and that if it were passed
by Parliament it would be quite ineffectual in prac-
tice. (Cries of " Hear, hear," " No, no," and
" Yes.") I can only add that if I have been obscure
upon any points on which you wish to know how I
would go, I shall be happy to answer any questions
to the best of my power. (Cheers.) [At this stage
of the proceedings, the father of the candidate, the
Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone, the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, made his appearence on the platform,
and was greeted with the most rapturous applause,
again and again repeated. When quietness had been
restored Mr. Gladstone, jun., resumed his address.
In conclusion he said,]—l ask you to prefer me to
Mr. Fenton—(cries of " Yes, yes," and " No, no.")
—for two reasons—first because I contend that he
has no right to divide the Liberal party—(cheers,
followed by interruption)—and secondly, because
he advocates certain doctrines which I don't think
of use to the country. (Hisses.) I ask you to pre-
fer me to Mr. Raikes—(cries of " Yes, yes," and
" No, no") because if he is returned he would sit on
the wrong side of the house. (Hear, hear, and
cheers.) Depend upon it that if you want your
taxes reduced and your pockets filled, as they have
been during the last few years—(A voice—" Fenton
will do it." Laughter)—if you want to have happi-
ness and content throughout the country and in
every class—(The voice—" Fenton will do it."
Laughter)—if you want economy in the national
defences—(" Fenton will do it." Laughter)—if, as
the people of this country, you want to receive sym-
pathy and aid from your rulers—(The voice—" Go
to Fenton." Laughter)—then, I say, you must re-
turn a Liberal candidate—(hear, and cheers)—and I
have the utmost confidence from the resultof the can-
vass I have been pursuing during the last week that
I shall be the honoured object of your choice. (Great
cheering, after which three cheers were heartilygiven
for the Chancellor of the Exchequer.)
The Right Hon. W. E. GLADSTONE, on rising to
address the meeting, was received with the utmost
enthusiasm. He said—Mr. Mayor, electors, and
gentlemen, although I have not the honour to be
either a candidate or an elector for the city of Chester,
yet I hope it will not appear to you strange or un-
natural thatl should come among you on the present
occasion—(hear, hear, and cheers)—when the imme-
diate question concerns one in whom I am so nearly
and dearly interested—(hear, hear, and cheers)—and
of whom I, at least, never have had cause, and I
believe that I never shall have cause, to be ashamed.
(Hear, hear, and great cheering.) But, gentlemen,
there is a special reason which brings me here, and
which makes me feel it to be my duty, if I am fa-
voured for a while with your patience and attention,
to explain distinctly the position in which we stand.
(Hear, hear.) We have in the field four candidates
for Chester ; or if I set apart one, about whose re-
turn I trust there is no shadow of doubt, and who
need not be considered as a party to this contest, we
have three candidates for a single seat. Gentlemen,
that is not at first sight a promising position of affairs
—and who are these three candidates ? One of them
is Mr. Raikes. (A Voice—" A Chester man")—and
Mr. Raikes has that claim to represent this consti-
tuency in Parliament which can be boasted by a
man who notoriously entertains opinions that are
those only of a very small minority of the consti-
tuency. (Loud cheers.) And how came Mr. Raikes
among you ? He came, gentlemen, in consequence
of divisions existing in the body of the majority of
the constituency. (Hear, hear.) And I am sure you
will agree with me that it is only those divisions
which could give to Mr. Raikes even the ghost of
a chance. (Hear, hear, and applause.) Well,
then, gentlemen—for I wish to make this a prac-
tical occasion—(interruption)—it is a grave matter
to consider who is responsible for this division.
(A Voice—" Your son.") I, at least, have
felt that responsibility deeply, and I have gone, I
am afraid, to the point of giving reasonable offence
to many who are the warmest and most influential
supporters of my son by my disinclination—nay,
more, by my resistance, to his coming here for any
purpose which could involve disparagement or dan-
ger to the predilections and the opinions of the ma-
jority. (Hear, hear, and applause.) And what,
gentlemen, was the first communication made by my
son, and made by my advice ? Generally, gentle-
men, I presume to say I leave him to the formation
of free opinions. (Cheers.) Never shall I attempt
to interfere with his conscientious conviction. (Hear.)
I am a lover of freedom for the nation. (Hear,
hear, and cheers.) lam a lover of freedom in the
family—(cheers)—but I did feel, gentlemen, that it
was my duty strenuously to urge upon him and to
adopt for myself this rule of conduct, that we would
not be governedby considerations of personal ambi-
tion ; that the flattering prospect of gaining your
suffrages should not bring him into the field to the
possible danger of that party -,vhich comprises
.three-
fourths of the constituency, unless we were con-
vinced that it was by him and by him alone that
representation of the opinions of that party could
be secured. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) And there-
fore his first pledge and promise was that he would
not be a candidate at all unless invited in a manner
so unequivocal as to be reasonably and morally sure
that he would be the object of your choice. (Hear,
hear, and cheers) But, gentlemen, it may be said
That is all very well, but what is to be
the test ?"' Very well, gentlemen, each of us has
had a test. Mr. Fenton has proposed a test—
a Voice—" And he has run away," laughter)
—and we have proposed a test ; and gentle-
men, if I refer to Mr. Fenton, and if I say that
this responsibility lies not at our door, but at his (A
Voice—" It does not," followed by cries of " Tarn
him out !" " Order, order 1"), I shall endeavour to
do so in terms that can give no offence to the gen-
tleman who has just now expressed his opinion
opposite to me—(hear, hear, and laughter)—nor to
anybody else—(hear)—and no word of intentional
disrespect to him, or his friends, or to his opinions
will escape me upon this occasion. (Applause.)
" But," said Mr. Fenton, " decide the question be-
tween us two by a meeting of the Liberal electors."
(Laughter.) Well, now, I frankly own I have no
doubt Mr. Fenton, with his other accomplishments,
must be a gentleman of great humour, and that he
saw or knew we were very simple, and knew we
were very young. (Laughter.) He knew we were
little better than babies—(laughter)—and I really
think that he considered that a very fair joke might
be passed off upon us. (Laughter.) Because, gen-
tlemen, nobody will tell me in earnest that a man
could really suppose that a seat for Chester was to
be disposed of by a meeting called, forsooth, and
denominated one of the Liberal electors. How was
a meeting of Liberal electors to be held ? Were there
to be doorkeepers to ask every man in the first place
his opinions, and whether he was a Parliamentary
elector ; and, in the second place, whether he was
a Liberal elector? (Laughter.) Suppose he thinks
he is a Liberal elector and the doorkeeper does not
think so, is the doorkeeper to bang the door in his
face ? No, the doorkeeper is not to bang the door
in his face ; but, if the doorkeeper is not to exercise
a judgment, how are you to secure a meeting of the
Liberal electors ? I take it this is for the most part
a meeting of the Liberal electors, and delighted I
am to see it—(applause)—but at the same time it
would not be very easy to decide at this meeting,
crowded and packed as you are, who shall be the
member for Chester. (Hear, hear.) I think a
good deal might depend, under some circum-
stances, upon who was in the chair. (Hear,
hear.) The truth is, gentlemen, that was
a method of declining altogether a reference to
any trustworthy criterion. (Hear, hear, and
cries of " No.") Well, gentlemen, we took our cri-
terion. We did not come into the field, we took no
step, until a requisition signed by 400 persons was
presented, and we then said what, lam bound to
say, was not very civil, though it was taken quite as
kindly as it was expected it would be—we then said
—" That won't do ; there is no proof in that requisi-
tion that my son is to be the object of the choice of
the bulk of the party which forms the majority of
the constituency, and unless that condition is ful-
filled we will not come into the field—we will not
divide the party." (Hear, and cheers.) Well, there-