The Sun.
London, England, 1853-09-28 00:00:00

FIFTY SOVS. SWEEPSTAKES.

Epaminondas
Weathercock
ST. LEGER STAKES

Cobnti

1

CHESTERFIELD RACES.

(THIS DAY.)

(BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.)

May Day .

Four ran.

LORD PALIVIERSTON IN
GLASGOW.

(From the Glasgow Constitutional of this day.)

Yesterday the freedom of the city was presented to Lord
Viscount Palmerston, in the City Hall, in presence of an
immense assemblage of ladies and gentlemen.
The hour fixed for the commencement of the proceedings
was 12 o'clock, but even before eleven, a considerable crowd
had collected around the principal entrance in Candleriggs
Street, and when the doors where thrown open, those who
had been fortunate enough to obtain tickets crowded in
with such eagerness that, in the course of a very few mi-
nutes every seat in the spacious area and galleries WAS
occupied. A more respectable, a more densely packed, a
more enthusiastic auditory, never filled the immense hall.
Nearly 3,000 tickets were issued, and being divided among
the members of the Town Council, they were well distri-
buted over the more respectable classes of the community.
The demand for tickets was altogether unprecedented, and
we have little doubt, if any place could have been found
where double the number could have obtained a glimpse of
his Lordship's visage, or been brought within range of his
voice, every available space would have been fully occu-
pied.
Precisely at noon, the Lord Provost, accompanied by
Bailie Gourlay, his Lordship's seconder in moving the
presentation, conducted Lord Palmerston to the platform.
The appearance of the noble Lord was the signal for a loud,
unanimous, and most enthusiastic burst of applause,
which lasted several minutes. It would be difficult to
imagine a more cordial or gratifying reception.
Amongst those presented to his lordship, and on the
platform, were —Baffles Watson, Stewart, Whyte, Gil-
mour, M`Gregor, and Drummond ; the Lord Dean of
Guild ; Dr. Strang the City Chamberlain ; Dr. Davie, the
City Assessor ; Messrs. Forbes and Turner, Town Clerks ;
the majority of the members of the Town Council; the
civic aLthorities of Gorbals ; the officials of the Chamber
of Comnerce, and the Merchant Company; Alex. Hastie,
Esq., MP. for the city ; Sir Jas. Anderson, M. P. ; A.
Hastie, Esq., M.P. for Paisley; Provost Martin, and Bai-
lie M'llwraith, of Greenock ; Sir James Campbell, of
Strathaca,thro • Wm. Connal, Esq. ; John Tennant, Esq.,
St. Roller ; Wm. Campbell, Esq., of Tillichewan ; Jas.
Scott, Esq,' of Kelly ; the Hon. Arthur Kinnaird, M.P.
for Perth; Andrew Orr, Esq., Chairman of the Glasgow
and South-Western Railway ; Sir Archibald Alison, Bart. ;
Professor Nicol ; William Steele, Esq. ; Alexander Camp-
bell, Esq., of Bonhill; the Rev. Drs. Barr, Craik, and
Buchanan ; the Rev. Mr. Gillan, and many other gentle-
nen.

The cheering which greeted the entrance of Viscount
Talmerston having subsided,
The Lord PROVOST rose and was received with loud
cheers. He said—My Lord Palmerston—lt is now my
iuty and my privilege to present to your lordship this
eurgess ticket, which admits you to the freedom of this
ancient city, and in doing so, permit me to say that this
Council now represents a population of 400,000, who aro
elected from all parts of the town—(cheers)—and are com-
posed of men of different ranks in life, and of all shades of
political opinions. This being the case, to find such a una-
nimous vote as this document expresses, confirmed as una-
nimously by the voice of the citizens—(cheers)—will, I
have no doubt, enhance the value of the compliment this
day paid to you. (Renewed cheers.) Although for a num-
ber of years we have not enrolled many honorary burgesses,
yet we have among our number several men celebrated in
science and literature, renowned as warriors, and eminent
as statesmen. (Cheers.) Two of these were your contem-
poraries and colleagues, who in this hall received the same
compliment ; and when I mention the name of Lord John
Russell—(loud cheers)—a nobleman who has so long and
faithfully served his country—(cheers)—and who has done
such to promote civil and religious liberty—(cheers)—I do
not require to say that he was received in a manner be-
coming the patrint ..fla the o,l:Lawman (Ch 0....)
other was the brilliant orator, the accomplished scholar,
and the celebrated historian, Thomas Babington Macauley
—(cheers)—who was received with an enthusiasm becom-
ing the high position which he occupied in the eyes of the
world. (Cheers.) But great as was the enthusiasm to
welcsme these celebrated men, and deep as was the anxiety
to see and hear them, still, if possible, greater has been the
enthusiasm to give your Lordship a welcome worthy of one
who occupies such a proud position in this country. (Loud
cheers.) Few, my lord, have been endowed with such
eloquence or such talents as you ; fewer still have been en-
abled to give to their country for such a lengthened period
those rare abilities with which you have been blessed • but
few, how very few, have advanced step by step as you have
done, after a service of upwards of for'sy years, till you have
reached yourpresesent eminence. (Cheers.) For I say, with-
out any intention to pay you an undeserved compliment,
or to cast reflection on any one of their eminent colleagues
—(cheers)---I say it because I believe it, that your are now
considered by your countrymen as the greatest statesman
of the age, and the most distinguished public man of your
day. (Cheers.) In honouring you, therefore, we have done
honour to ourselves. Need I mention the energy, activity,
and business habits you have brought to bear on every
department of the public service, the courage and determi-
nation you have so often displayed in protecting the inte-
rests and the privileges of your countrymen abroad—(loud
cheers)--or the manner in which you have upheld the hon-
our and maintained the dignity of Jour Sovereign and
your country. (Loud cheers). Having already in the
Council alluded to what that great statesman, Sir Robert
Peel said of you, the last time his voice was heard in the
House of Commons, I will not do so again here ; but I
cannot help in these times when every one is more anxious
than another, mentioning what was said of you about the
same time by another great statesman and one whose
name I have already mentioned, Lord John Russell. His
Lordship's words were—" He is not the minister of France,
he is not the Minister of Austria, he is not the Minister
of Russia, but he is the Minister of England." (Much
cheering.) These words it was my fortune to hear in the
House of Commons, well do I remember with what cheers
they were received, and these cheers were re-echoed
throughout the whole country. (Lona cheers.) Sufe I
am, my Lord, I only express the universal opinion when I
state, that all rejoice to see you at the present moment oc-
cupying so prominent a place in her Majesty's Councils,
and trust that you may long be spared in health and
strength to &tote for the berefit of mankind, and the
good of your country, those brilliant talents which have
hitherto proved of such signal service. (Much cheering.)
His Lordship then presented Lord Palmerston with the
minute of Council conveying to his Lordship the freedom
of the city. The box in which the address was enclosed is
of square mould, measuring about seven inches long by
five broad, and is nearly four inches in depth. It is ele-
gantly plated with gold, and ornamented externally with
an exquisite variety of floral devices. On the lid is a
beautifully carved representation of the City Arms. The
box teas enclosed in a handsome case, couered with dark
green velvet, and lined with white satin.
Viscount PALMERSTON, who was received with a con-
tinued burst of applause, said—My Lord and gentlemen,
a man must indeed be utterly insensible, to all those feel-
ings which ought to animate the inhabitants of a free and
constitutional country, if he was not deeply moved to the
very bottom of his heart by the sight and occasion of
which lam now a witness. (Loud cheers.) The honour
which you have conferred upon me is one which must be
dear to any man who deserves to be a member, and, as a
public man, an active member of that great country to
which all of us belong. But if a man ought to be proud
of the approbation of a great mass of his fellow-country-
men, distinguished by
their enlightenment, by all those
qualities which belong to high civilisation, and h
country—if a man ought to be
ennoble and dignify a
proud of the approbation of such a mass of his fellow._
countrymen, I venture to say, without paying you, the
people of Glasgow, an undue or merited compliment, that
there can be no portion of the people of this great empire
whose approbation ought to be more an object of ambition
to any man who has devoted himself to the public service,
or from whom honours proceeding ought to be a more
ample and satisfactory recompense for any efforts which he
may have made in the performance of his pubic duty.
(Loud cheers.) I can assure my Lord Provost and gen-
tlemen, that I feel most deeply and sensibly the great
value of the honour which you have this day conferred
upon me. (Cheers.) I estimate duly the honour of being
admitted a burgess of this great commercial metropolis
but still more do I value it as a proof that the
humble services which I have been enabled, in the per-
formance of my duties, iu your opinion, to render to my
country, have met with your esteem and approbation.
(Loud cheers.) It is gentlemen, the privilege of the
people of a free country, thus in public meetings to express
their opinion of the conduct of those whose lot it may have
een, in any capacity, high or less exalted, to serve their
bountry. In countries where the Governments are unfor-
o tunately framed upon a different model, public opinion is
gagged, and expresses itself only in ways which do not
often conduce to public tranquility or to the general wel-
fare ; but it is the privilege and the good fortune of consti-
tutional countries that public men are there enabled from
time to time to have as their guide the expression of pub-
lic opinion; and when they are fortunate enough to obtain
as I have now the honour to obtain the approbation of
their countrymen, they receive the greatest reward for
their past conduct, and the most ample encouragement to
pursue that course which they have thought for the benefit
of their country. (Cheers.) The Lord Provost has also
mentioned the names of those illustriou3 men with whom
it is my good fortune to be this day associated in honour
as I have in past and in present times been associated also
in tabours and in public duty. It must be gratifying to
me to be told that the honour which lam this day receiv-
ing, has also been conferred upon my friend and colleague
Lord John Russell—(cheers)—a man whose name will ever
live in the grateful recollection of his countrymen as the
most energetic, the most consistent, the most persevering
champion of the cause of civil and religious liberty in
every quarter of the world. (Cheers.) It adds, no doubt,
greatly to the satisfaction which any man must feel at re-

ceiving this honour from your hands that ho holds it in
common with a man like Lord John Russell. (Cheers.)
It is also gratifying to think that you are associating mo
with that eminent man, Mr. Macaulay—(cheers)—a man
who has the rare faculty of combining in his persou the
sagacity, the wisdom, and the practical experience of a
statesman, with that intellectual distinction wn,ch quali-
fies him to be one of the greatest historians which this
country has ever produced—(loud cheers)—and of whose
writings I may say that, although he may have written
almost more than any living author of the same distinc-
tion, there is hardly a page that he has written which does
not contain some moral sentiment, or some maxim of po-
litical wisdom, which the man who reads it would not
wish to have for ever engraven on his memory. (Much
cheering.) Gentleman, 'n rega-xl to the course of my
public life, I can simply say that it has been my anxious
endeavour, in whatever position it has been my lot to be
placed, simply to do my duty. (Loud cheers.) No man
can hope or pretend to do more than his duty ; and every
man, whoever he may be, in whatever position he may be
placed—ought, to the best of his abilities, to endeavour
that that duty should be performed. (Cheers.) I felt it
my duty, in the discharge of the functions of Foreign
Secretary, to endeavour, as the Lord Provost bas stated,
to extend to all our fellow countrymen, in whatever part
of the globe their lot may have cast them, or their pur-
suits might have led them, to extend that protecting
of
arm
which this country is enabled to extend from one
dependd
upon it, that there is no country so remote—there is n
the globe to the other—(loud cheers)—for you may
Government so divided, and apparently so unexposed o
to
external influences that the power of England is not there
dreaded when that power is exerted in a just and holy
oefn teho en r
aG
ev etrhnemdei nfftn
st
ion
n owhichffr
free
hiand.
tbheel o objectg
those,
nations who wished to obtain them.
(Cheers.) theeeta iut us honouret
o In ts amongw taes
(Cheers.) And though we never pretended to impose on
any country a form of c' ,overnment which the people of
that country did not of themselves desire, yet
I am
persuaded that the great and enlightened audience which
I am now addressing is animated by the same feeling,
which upon all former occasions inspired the people of the
country, namely, that they approved of the conduct of
their Government, when it extended a helping hand to
those who were anxious to obtain for themselves, and by
their own exertions, the inestimable blessings of free in-
stitutions and constitiutional liberty. (Cheers.) Gentle-
men, there was one other subject which was dear to our
hearts, and which I know well, inspires the greatest in-
terest among all those whom I have now the honour of
ad dressing—l mean the suppression, the extinction of
that (testable crime which, by a hyprocritical perversion
of the expression, has been denominated by those who per-
petrated it the African slave trade—(cheers)--as if there
were anything in common between that odious and abomi-
nable crime and those legitimaie and honourable pursuits
which are embraced in the expression of " trade." (Cheers.)
Gentlemen, we were greatly successful. We succeeded, in
the first place, in obtaining from Spain great powers for
the suppression of her slave trade. Up to the period
when the Government of Queen Isabella and Parliamentary
institutions, were established in Spain, the only powers
which this country had for interfering with the slave
trade of Spain, were limited to the northern portion of the
Atlantic. My noble friend, Lord Clarendon, who now so
ably conducts the foreign relations of this country—(loud
cheers)—and who by his independent and truly British
feeling, by the firmness of his mind, by the greatness of
his talents, by the clearness of his perception, and by the
determination which animates his conduct, will amply
answer and repay the confidence and support which I trust
and am persuaded he will receive from the great mass of his
fellow-countrymen—Lord Clarendon, who now so ably
performs the duties of your Foreign Minister, was then
our representative at Madrid. (Cheers.) Well, gentlemen,
we had greatly contributed to the vast improvement which
the Spaniards had obtained in their form of government ;
we asked for no selfish reward ; we asked for no advan-
tage to England, in commerce or in political influence, but
we said to the Government of Spain—lf you think, as
you cannot deny, that we have done you good service—
that we have enabled you to accomplish objects important
for the welfare of your nation, there is one repayment
which we ask, and that is additional powers to put down
your slave trade. (Cheers.) Lord Clarendon, then minis-
ter at Madrid, most ably executed the instructions of his
Government, and he obtained from the Government of
Spain the same powers all over the world which had been
obtained previously in regard to a small portion of the
slave trade of Spain. (Loud cheers.) Gentlemen, 1 con-
gratulate you upon the altered condition of things in re-
gard to that abominable crime—(cheers)---a crime, I will
say, the greatest that ever cast a stain upon the moral
condition of mankind—(cheers)—a crime degrading and
debasing to those who commit it, as much as it is afflicting
to those who are its victims. (Loud cheers.) Gentlemen,
Brazil has been compelled, aye compelled, by the energy
of the Britith navy, who can accomplish anything—(much
and most enthusiastic cheering)—that navy which, I say,
can accomplish anything which is within human possi-
bility—Brazil reluctantly, and solely against her will, her
prejudices, and what she imagined falsely to be her inter-
ests, has been compelled to put an end to that crime,
as perpetrated by her. (Cheers.) Still Spain con,
tinues, to a small degree, to practice that ini-
quity ; but I trust that means may be found to
open the eyes of the Spanish Government, as the eyes
of the Government of Brazil have been opened ;
and that not much time will elapse before we can add Cuba
to the list of those counties which shall henceforward be
hermetically shut against the importation of slaves. (Loud
cheers.) Brazil has derived the greatest advantage from
the compulsion we put upon her. The capital which used
to be employed in the traffic of the flesh and blood of men,
is now employed in internal improvements ; roads begin to
be made, railways are planned ; improvements of all kinds
are going on ; and 1 will venture to say that ten years will
not pass over the heads of the Brazilians before they thank
the people of England for the necessity which has been im-
puaod. lapolx them .f elemdoning the vicious!' trufflc of the
slave trade. (Loud cheers.) But, gentlemen, it is in the un-
fortunate regions of Africa that the advantages of your in-
terference-1 say your interference, because it was the
good feeling of the people of the United Empire that
enabled the Government to achieve what they have clone
—(cheers)--it is in Africa that the benefits of that inter.
ference are most strikingly and manifestly exhibited.
These plaees which were heretofore the nest of pirates,
sallying forth for plunder, murdering, burning, capturing,
selling, and destroying—these haunts of crime are now be-
coming the seats of peaceful commerce—(cheers)—the mis-
sionary is following the merchant, and we may hope that
Christianity will accompany the progress of civilisation.
(Loud cheers.) That must be a great satisfaction to all
the people of this country, and more peculiarly to the in-
habitants of Glasgow, because I know that in no place more
than here has a deeper interest been felt in that sacred
cause—(cheers)—that must be a great satisfaction to the
people of England ; and if the good things which
mankind do are visited in equal dispensations with
those which invariably attend the bad things they
do, I trust that the people of these islands may not
find themselves the worse off in theix temporal welfare
in the dispensations of Providence, for having so nobly
acted in rescuing the whites from crime, the blacks from
from destruction. (Loud cheers.) Gentlemen, it is a
wonderful sight for those who, like myself, have not visited
Scotland for a considerable number of years, to see the
vast improvement, of every sort and kind, which meets
the eye wherever the stranger go. One of those qualities
for which the British nation are eminently distinguished
is steady, unflinching perseverance. It is a quality that
belongs to our race, and it is a quality without which all
other qualities are vainly exerted in the promotion of the
welfare of mankind. (Cheers.) But I say it without
compliment, that if there is one portion of the United
Empire which more than another is distinguished for this
great and eminent quality of steady and unflinching per-
serverance, it is the Scottish nation. (Cheers.) And it is
to that quite as much as to the great intelligence of the
people, the great interchange of knowledge, the great dis-
position to industry—it is to your unflinching perseverance
in those measures and that course which are calculated to
produce progressive improvement that Scotland is now a
bright example to, I may say, all Europe, in regard to
everything connected with the civilisation of man, with
intellectual improvement, with material and physical wel-
fare. (Loud cheers.) There was a time, gentlemen, when
it was the fashion for public men to say, show me a proved
abuse, and 1 will do my best to correct it. Times are
changed. Men now say, show me a practical improve.
meet, and that improvement I will do my best to rea-
lise. (Cheers.) That is, gentlemen, a maxim not only
engrained in the daily habits of the people, but engraven
upon the minds of those who are called upon to ad-
minister the affairs of the country—(cheers)—and
I will venture to say that so great has been the
progress of intellectual improvement among those who are
called upon to act as public men, that there is now no
party in the country who, if called upon to administer
your affairs, would not act upon that maxim more or less,
according to their respective notions of improvement, who
would not act upon the principle of going on for progres-
sive improvement, without waiting to be impelled by the
impulse of proved and undeniable ause. (Cheers.) lam
sure shot the people of this country will in that respect
give their assistance to the executive Government, because
it is plain that the range of observation of a government
must always be to a certain degree limited ; and that they,
must derive the greatest possible assistance from sugges-
tions made to them from every part of the countryin which
local arrangements may be susceptible of material improve-
ment ry e
ment by any alteration or change. (Cheers.) I can onlye-
say, in regard to the department which is now committed
to my charge, that I shall always be thankful to any one
who may suggest improvements, pointing out what may
in their opinion be wrong, and enabling me to set that
sth(Clehleearms.)
ofGtehnetlgeimeaetn
a,
aldhaveaga:
flatteringin
tow h
say
his s ww r
do
en
egp iyg
shotn.
honour which you have this day conferred upon me • and
and
fie
proudci
nooft
merely
thee r considerationsely honournm which hhe i
iwcehnh
person,
e musthasrs onn beena
bt
uutraal
sly o conferred,nh
ea v
)ef
Imt
feelhacalet
I can assure you that, abstractly from those personal feel-
ings•ea
body of men whose lot has cast them in' the public service,
because I feel that you are doing a great good to the
TuntrY 'whenever you step forward, as you are doing to-
pleased to r
tahr
"a Y, and though undoubtedly over-rating any merits which
great good conferyou
prospect, trhat
possess upon whom you have been
the individual
e honour you are doing, I repeat a
country, when you hold out to public
if they perform their duty honestly,
energetically, men the
moniesnsci e nftrioomu sgly;
e,
aate
and
enlightened
;they will be told that they
bodies of their country-
meny have done what is thought
y, they will receive testi-
right ; opine when they are not told, they may infer that
d (Cheers, and a laugh.)
a different on is entertaine'in
opinions, by great and
the honour of ad-
ti;s aangdreyantoonevinaemaent of free and
The expression of such feelin g
enlightened bodies like that have
y certain
gtrotehatathtea,
cdornessstiintugt,iodneaplengdouyperonninietn,
tyl
by practising and pursuing this course
-almost extent of your great means, eon' fYerrouinare,
benefit upon sufficientlyry as you are conferilipnogn,gtehraeseq
indeed not a deserved honour
dual whom you may select as the object of your 1
appro
tion. (Loud cheers.) My Lord Provost and gentlemen, I.
hog again to return to you my most hearty and sincere
thanks and assure you that I shall ever retain the most
grateful' sense of the groat and flattering honour which I
have this day been so fortunate as to receive. (The noble
viscount sat clown amidst repeated and most enthusiastic
plaudits.)
ALEXANDER HASTIE, Esq., M.P. for the city, then rose
and said—Although not included in the arrangements of
this (lay, I feel that we could not separate, in justice to
ourselves, without tendering to the Lord Provost, the Ma-
gistrates, and the Town Council, a cordial vote of thanks
for the honour they have done themselves, as well as us—
for the honour they have done the city of Glasgow, by in-
viting the noble lord to he present on this occasion, and
bestowing on him the only honour they have i t in their power
to bestow, by enrolling him among our honorary burgesses.
(Cheers.) The political life of the noble lord has not been
a short one; but he has at all times came forward as the de-
fender of the weak, as the succourer of the oppressed, as
the friend of man. (Cheers.) I venture to say that while
he continues a constituent member of our Government,
the name of this country will not only be honoured abroad