The Sun.
London, England, 1838-04-19 00:00:00

THE SALFORD CONSERVATIVE

DINNER.

This dinner took place on Tuesday evening. Sir Francis
Burdett, Lord Maidstone, Sir George Sinclair, &c., were
among the guests invited. The dinner was giver by the con-
servative electors and operatives to their late candidate, Wil-
liam Garnett, Esq. The festival was held in a large tempo-
rary wooden building, specially erected for the purpose, and
fitted up with great magnificence. The building together
with the decorations, is said to have cost nearly 2,000/. It is
calculated that upwards of 1,600 persons were present. W.
Hill (late chairman of Mr. Garnett's Committee) was in the
chair, and supported by many of the most influential gentle-
men of Salford. Mr. Garnett and Lord Maidstone were
' placed on the right of the Chairman, and Sir F. Burdett and
Sir George Sinclair on the left.
After the removal of the cloth, the CHAIRMAN proposed the
following usual toasts:—
" The Queen."
" The Queen Dowager and all the Royal Family."
• " Our glorious Constitution in Church and State."
" The Army and Navy."
The CHAIRMAN then proposed " The health of Mr. Gar-
nett," upon whom he passed a high eulogium.
After Mr Garnett's health had been drank, and previous to
his returning thanks, a handsome piece of plate was presented
to him by the convervative operatives of Salford.
Mr. GARNRTT then proceeded to address the meeting, and
was received with loud cheers. That was the third anniver-
sary of the Operative Conservative Association of Salford,
end no one who witnessed that splendid assembly could say
that there was no reaction in Salford.—( Cheers.) Their
Hon. guests had come from Leeds, where they had been in-
vited to dine with a numerous assembly last evening. To-
morrow they were to meet a large assembly at Manchester ;
on Friday, at Huddersfield; and on Monday, at Liverpool.
Why was it that they witnessed these great meetings in Lan-
cashire and Yorkshire, and other parts of England? It was
because the institutions of the country were in jeopardy—it
was because the Church was attacked—it had been given up in
Ireland—the Ministers had abandoned it to serve the purposes
of a vile faction.—( Cheers.) The Ministers flattered the
people and cajoled them, and put on the mask of hypocrisy to
deceive and enslave the country, and play the tyrant.—( Hear,
hear.) The favourite topic now was that of national educa-
tion—education without religion—taking away from the poor
man the means of religious instruction, and substituting in its
stead a dry question of political economy.--( Hear, hear.)
Ater some remarks of a local nature Mr. Garnet spoke at
some length against the Ballot, which he contended was un-
English, and would not produce the effect contemplated.
The CHAIRMAN briefly proposed The Health of Sir Francis
Burdett, Bart., M. P., and those distinguished Guests who have
honoured us with their presence."
Sir FRANCIS BURDTTT, on rising to reply, was most enthu-
siastically applauded. He had been surprised to hear the his-
tory of the late struggle in Salford, and to find the extraor-
dinary decision of the Committee of the House of Commons,
which he regarded as being not only founded upon a silly pre-
tence, but upon a gross misconception of duty ; because,
although bound to try, they had excluded the possibility of
trying the merits of the question. But he was not going to
justify the imputations thrown upon the House of Commons
by the person alluded to by the Chairman, but whom he
( Sir Francis Burdett) had never scrupled to name—Mr,
Daniel O'Connell._( Hear, hear.) He spoke, not merely of
the grossness of the imputations thrown upon the Members
of the House by Mr. O'Connell, but whatever might be
thought of the Grenville Act, which might have occasioned
some inconvenience under the operation of the Reform
Act, twenty years ago, he recollected it had been satis-
factory. But under the new Act of Parliament all diffi-
cult questions which had in some degree been settled by
the frequent decisions of former Committees, had become
a sort of law. Mr. O'Connell, however, could not always
speak the truth, for, in his usual gross way, he had imputed to
one part of the House only, which was to the Conservatives,
all the blame, leaving the Whigs, whom he used to call " the
bare, the brutal, the bloody Whigs," alone.—(Hear, hear.)
Let any gentleman examine the number of Conservative gen-
tlemen who sat in the House, and he would see that they were
not the party who deserved this abuse. He had been called the
patriot and the liberator of Ireland, by a country the strangest
of which the world had ever heard. Indeed, Dean Swift, a
century ago, observed that that which was true everywhere else
was not true in Ireland; in like manner, in all countries a
patriot was a person who made great sacrifices for his country ;
patriotism and pay were every where regarded as impossible to
live together, except in Ireland ; but where patriotism and pay
did go together, there the price of vice and the reward
of virtue might be drawn by the same person.—(Cheers.)
Nevertheless, Mr. O'Connell had an influence in the House
of Commons such as was never before possessed not only by
any individual, but by all those who had the means of return-
ing Members which was so much complained of. That was
a trifling evil compared with that which had sprung up from
the influence of the arch-agitator and the Popish priests—
(Loud cheers)—of whom Mr. Daniel O'Connell was nothing
less than the creature.—( Continued cheers.) The system of
nomination was, indeed, an infringement upon the British
Constitution, yet, practically speaking, it had not any disas-
trous effect on the interests of the country at large : but by the
system which had sprung from the Reform Bill, Mr. O'Con-
nell was enabled to carry on a wholesale trade in an interest
diametrically opposed to the Protestantism of the country. In
conclusion, Sir Francis defended the Church Establishment
in language precisely to the same effect as that he used at
Leeds, and sat down after calling upon the Members of the
various Conservative Associations to remain true to their prin-
ples. He was loudly cheered on taking his seat.
The next toast was " The Members for the North Division
of Lancashire—Lord Francis Egerton and the Hon. Bootle
Wilbraham," which was neatly responded to by Mr. ELIAS
CHADWICK.

Mr. WlLKins (barrister) next addressed the meeting. He
said that the gentlemen who had the superintendence and ma-
nagement of that festival had selected him to propose the next
toast, "Sir Robert Peel and the Conservative Members of the
House of Commons."—( Great cheering.) He was at a loss
for terms to express his admiration of the freedom from pre-
judice—the self-control—the integrity, the hatred of faction,
the diligence, the disinterestedness of their leader ( Sir Robert
Peel), all of which had combined to endear him to his coun-
trymen, and to ennoble and dignify his country.—(Loud
cheers.) He begged to offer the acknowledgments of that
meeting to the distinguished individuals who had that day ho-
noured them with their presence. He was sure that all who
heard him would augur well of Lord Maidstone for the spirit
and temperance, courage and moderation, wisdom and modesty
displayed by him on the late occasion. He would direct their
attention to what was called the Ministerial side of the House,
which presented a most heterogeneous mass, a strange com-
pound of Radicalism and Republicanism, infidelity and fana-
ticism, Presbyterianism and Papacy—
" A strange harmonious inclination
Of all degrees for reformation."
The Ministers had declared in their government they would
repudiate patronage and promote merit. Had their ap_
pointments, judicial, ecclesiastical, civil, or military, borne
them out in that promise ? Certainly not. This was no co-
loured character of Whiggism. The Whigs were profligate,
hollow and deceitful.

Sir GEORGE SINCLAIR, M. P., rose to reply, and expressed
his admiration of the eloquent speech just delivered by the
Learned Gentleman. The meeting had before them two splen-
did examples of the Conservative Members of the House of
Commons. They had his Noble Friend (Lord Maidstone),
whose chivalrous bearing and manly conduct had placed him
on a pinnacle whence he could not descend ; and they had his
Friend the Hon. Baronet, who was, he would venture to say,
one of the most enlightened patriots which this nation could
boast of.--( Cheers. )
Mr. GARNETT had the greatest pleasure in proposing the
health of that distinguished young nobleman, Lord Viscount
Maidstone.—(lmmense cheering.)
Lord MAIDSTONE returned thanks. He was indeed happy
in its having fallea to his lot, the first time he had come north
of the Trent, to come to Leeds, next to Salford, then to
Manchester and Liverpool, to be present at such glorious Con-
servative feasts. There was one subject on which they all felt
deeply interested, and, as he had had an opportunity of knowing
something more than they could upon it, he would trespass a
few moments on their attention, to mention what he saw with
his own eyes, and heard with his own ears, in the Salford Elec-
tion Committee-room. He would say, without fear of contra-
diction,
that that petition was none of your petitions got up
without rhyme or reason—it was not even like those Irish pe-
titions, got up for a purpose—it was not like any of those cop-
poch-bottom petitions—but, as they all knew, it had truth
for its foundation.—( Cheers.) And Mr. Brotherton also
said afterwards in the House of Commons, that he courted in-
quiry. If he courted the inquiry, the contrary prrty expected
inquiry, and the House of Commons put the Committee into
a situation for going into it. But a legal quibble arose. Ho
said if there were any evidence they ought to investigate the
case, or they would not be doing their duty as representatives
of the people ; they would not be doing their duty to their
own character, or to the House which appointed them, if they
allowed Mr. Garnett to go away unsatisfied, and his case had
not been heard.—( Hear, hear.) He then asked what must
be the character of the proceedings of a British senate, if a
man could not obtain justice er inquiry ; therefore it was mere
assumption on the part of Mr. O'Connell to say that the Con-
servative party were interested in taking and keeping up the
present constitution of those Committees.—( Hear.) There
Bras one fact which they must bear in mind, namely, that they
must have a Member, and that that Member must be Mr.
Garnett.—( Cheers.) He did not know whether Mr. Bro-
therton would be able to find a place in Mr. O'Connell's tail—
( Laughter)—he thought the Hon. Member was one of it al-
ready—( Continued laughter)—if not, he was quite worthy of
it; or whether he was going out in the capacity of legal ad-
viser to Lord Durham with 1,5001. Give him the 1,500/..a-
-year, and let the electors try if they could not find asts,-,ud a
man. It was his fortune to plump " head o'"". heels" in
political strife to begin with, 1-1.1 thuidix put a toe

first, then the knees, and afterwards gradually introduce his
body, but he plunged at once into the middle of the political
troubles.—(Hear,hear. ) Certainly no man ilt the world
ever before such a favourable opportunity, and the cause ho
had had in hand be brought to a successful and triumphant
end in the face of the House of Commons, in the oyes df the
people.—(Cheers.) Mr. O'Connell, who had made use of
and insinuated his lies—and he (Lord Maidstone) would tell
him so, only that he had put himself out of the pale of a gen-
tleman—(Loud cheers)—and the position in which he had
thus placed himself gave him (Lord Maidstone) a sure vie'
tory, if ho came down and denied his atrocious calumnies.--
(L-ud cheers.) Mr. O'Connell never fairly met the ques-
tion ; he endeavoured rather to lead his audience away froth
it by the old cry of " justice to Ireland"—( The Noble Lord's
imitation of the agitator's manner and tone occasioned great
laughter)—so that he ( Lord Maidstone) found that he must
meet him. If ever there was a buffoon, he (Lord Maidstone)
then saw, in the House of Commons, Mr. O'Connell play the
character, and beat anything at Astley's.—( Laughter.) The
Noble Lord then offl-ed sorne appropriately jocular remarks
in proposing The Lancashire witches," a toast which was
most loudly responded to from every part of the room.
The principal guests shortly afterwards retired, and the
meeting dispersed about twelve o'clock, highly gratified with
the whole proceedings.