The Sun.
London, England, 1822-01-01 00:00:00

If again called upon' they would nobly do their duty towards
bins. He trusted that Mr. Canning would long continue to be
their Member. Were circumstances, however, to arise which
would render it neceparrtliat he should vacate his seat, and
retire from their Service, he must honestly confess, that he
knew not how his.place could be adequately filled. Hetherefore
ardently hoped, that no circumstance might:ever arise to sepa-
rate the town and him. , He. concluded with proposing, that the
toast should be drunk in such a way as most accorded with the
feelings of the company. He then gave—
" Our highly distinguished Representative, the Right Hon..
George Canning, whose independ.ence and consistency, result-
in.. from permanence of principle; have secured the confidence
of Constituents."

The toast was received and drunk with an enthusiasm of ap-
plause which baffles every atte4t.to describe it. The plauOits
continued several' minutes.

The CHAIRMitni prefaced the next toast on the list by ob-
serving, that in' General Gascoyne the town had a faithful and
zealous Representative. It had just occurred to him, that, be-
fore they proceeded to drink his health, he would, with the per-
mission of the company, trouble them with a few observations.
They were all probably aware, that in the course of the last few
Weeks, a controversy, of .a very extraordinary nature, had taken
place between the Editor of the Liverpool Mercury and the
Editor of the Liverpool Courier. At a .mcment and in a man-
ner the most uncalled for, the Editor of the Mercury had
thought proper
.to bring a most serious charge against the friends
of Mr. Canning. His motives foe-so doing were best known to
himself, and what they were, he left those who heard him to
conjecture. None occurred to him, unless it were a desire (to
which he would not attempt to give such an epithet as it might
be thought to merit)* to sow the seeds of discord among the
friends of Mr. Canning and General Gascoyne, equally the
friends of the King and Constitution, a 3 by law established ; to
effect which, heKthe Chairman) trusted, would be vain and im-
practicable. The charge thug brought forward was, that the
friends of Mr. Canning, during the election of 1312, propoSed
to those of Mr. Brougham, that, if they would consent to aban-
don their .candidate, Mr. Creevey, they, the friends of Mr.
Canning, would cease to support the interest of Gen. Gascoyne,
in order to secure the return of Mr. Canning and M r. Brougham.
He believed that the terms used in the Mercury were, the
" leaders of the party." Leaders ! Why,' were they not all
leaders, every man having acted in the cause from the impulse
Of his own feelings ?—Were it otherwise, they would be un-
worthy of their freedom and independence. He (Mr. G.) had
no hesitation, for his own part, in saying, that the charge was
false. He spoke for himself individually ; and, having been
one of those who took a very active part in the election of that
year, had any such idea been for a moment entertained, lie
thought he must have known of it. He had no hesitation iii
stating, that he knew not, nor did he believe, that such a mea-
sure was ever thought of. Individtially he might go much
further and add, that so anxious was he to prevent Mr. Brougham
being returned for Liverpool, that he subscribed largely to the
fund for defraying the legal expenses of General Gascoyne's
election, and several others of Mr. Canning's friends, he be-
lieved, did the same. This fact spoke volumes. Ile gave their
friend, Mr. Kaye' the greatest credit for the able manner in
;.which he had vindicated the character of Mr. Canning's friends
from so foul a charge. He had done them no more than juS--
tice in .supporting the consistency, of that' honourable conduct
which had ever marked . their proceedings, an in supposing
that, in their estimation; the intercsts*of General Gascoyne were
not of the same importance with those of Mr. Canning, but
'as next in importance to his, and superior to those of all
the candidates that have, at different periods, since 1812
been brought forward for the honour of representing Liver-
pool. He said thus, much, because the Editor of the Mercury,
when challenged to produce his authority for the libel, had
sheltered himself from doing. so; by asserting that the commu-
nication between the parties was "confidential."—We (said
Mr. G.) spurn the pretext, and challenge them to name those
to whom they refer. We waive their affected restriction, and,
as they take praise to themselves for rejecting the imputed pro-
posal, they cannot suffer, in that way; from naming those who,
as they profess to know them, were the parties on both
sides, in this business. Then we shall know with whom
to discuss the subject, and whether any person did exist who
assumed the names of the friends of
.Mr. Canning. It was'
proper, whoeVer they were, that they should be held up to just
execration, from which nothing ought to shelter .them.
ing said thus much, he trusted that the foul calumny was now
effectually put down, and retorted on those -who gave it birth.
Ile should conclude with proposing the health Of " General
Gascoyne, the 'colleague of our Right Honourable Friend,"
with three times three. It was drunk accordingly.
" The Loyal and Independent Freemen of Liverpool."
The CliArnstax then begged leave to deviate frOm the
printed toasts, and proposed- that the company 'should drink
in a bumper, and with three times three, or nine times rine,' to
the health of a gentleman who sat on his right hand, of whom
he needed only to say, _that, whenever their King or country
demanded his services, he was never found absent from his
post; he meant their highly respected friend, John Bolton,
Esq.—The toast was drunk with the greatest enthusiasm and
long and reiterated cheers.

Mr. BOLTON, so soon as the applause had subsided, rose
and said—Gentlemen, I have to thank my friend, Air. Glad-
stone, for the honour he has done me in proposing my health,
and this respectable company for the approbation with which it
has been received. • Gentlemen,. we are this day met to cele-
brate the 9th anniversary of the election of our distinguished
Member, Mr. Canning; and when I reflect on the advantage
this loyal and opulent town receives by having such a repre-
sentative, I am persuaded we could not have rendered it a more
essential service ; •for, Gentlemen, whatever influence politics
may have on party, all must agree, that we could not have an
abler representative, or one more attentive to the interests of the
town. That.being the fact, I trust, should we have occasion to
re-elect him, we shall not meet with the opposition we have
hitherto done. I have been an inhabitant of Liverpool now
nearly forty years; and I h.aVe no hesitation iu sayni„,,,r that thiS
borough was never so ably represented. These, Gentlemen,
are my candid sentiments ; and, 1 can assure you, 1 have no
motive but for the credit and advantage of the town. Gentic.:
men, in all that has been stated by Air. Gladstone, respecting
the unfounded statement made by the:Mercury Newspaper,: in
reference to the conduct of Mr. Canning's- friends-at his fiest
election, r perfectly concur. Allow me, Gentlemen, to remat
my best thanks for the honour you have done me ; and I have
the pleasure to drink all your good hcalths.
Mr. BOLTON again rose to propose a toast, which would, he
had no doubt, be drunk by that respectable Meeting in h
bumper.. It was to the health of a Gentle Man who tvaglbsent
from the festivities of the day ; one who is a strenuous sup_
porter. of the cause, and an'ornament to the town of Liverpool,
Henry Blundell Hollingshead, Esti.
The.toast was received ;knit drunk with marked applause.
• The immortal memory of the Right lion: Wm: Pitt : three
times three.—Song, " The Pilot thatfreather'd the storm."
The CHAIIIMAN again begged leave to deviatefrem the pre-
. scribed line of toasts, whilst he proposed to .drink to the health
of their excellent and worthy; though absent, PreSident of the.
day, Sir John Tobin. In making this proposition,-he had only
to add, that their friend was not more distinguished for his firm
and unshaken loyalty, than for his active and enterprising spirit,
of which we beheld many proofs in the port of Liverpool. The
toast was drank with much applause.
ToniN briefly returned thanks on behalf of his brother.

The CUA IR 71,1,1?.: observed, that his friend, Mr. Bolton, had
remarked, that " this.was the ninth anniversary of the Canning
Club." • He (Mr. G.) went on to say that this association :had
its origin in circumstances of no common kind. In the year,
11112, we were called upon to oppose a party amongst us, who
professed principles which, whatever credit for sincerity we
were willing to allow to their advocates, 'were inimical to ours,
and which we considered as contrary to the best interests of the
and of the empire of large. At that period we entered the
lists against them under great disadvantages. Our opponents,
by popular topics, (such as the Orders in Council,) had in-
fluenced the public mind. They were ardent' in their
cause, inflated with hopr, and confident of success. :Not
satisfied wish bringing one candidate into the field, ,they
arrogated to themselves the power .• of returning two.-
.The indignation' of the loyal and independent freemen was,
roused. They. took. the field against their presumptilous
antagonists: they came, they fOught, they conquered ; ; and
not only returned one candidate, but two:. It was an important
crisis in the representative history of Liverpool, and a memor-
able event in the annals of the town: The company were. now
assembled together to commemorate that event : and it must'
be gratifying to them' all, that, up to the pre,sent hour, not-
withstanding the vicissitudes and repeated contests during nine
long years, our ranks, to judge from recent events, 'not only
remain undiminished and unbroken,.. but are increased in
strength and numbers. Such a fact must be gratifying.to
It is an ample stimulus to perseverance in the-good cause, and
gives abundant promise that our exertions m.suppoit of it will