The Sun.
London, England, 1848-01-29 00:00:00

cause us any apprehension of a sudden invasion from
France. I remember this is a very old story; but it
used formerly to be Russia and not France. I re-
member Mr. Attwood, late Member for Birmingham,
making a four hours' speech, to prove—and he made
a good case for an invasion case—that Russia might
be expected to make her appearance at London-
bridge some fine morning, without the slightest no•
ties). But now Russia is left out of the question,
and it is France that we are to fear. Why the
French budget shows a reduction for the coming year.
I don't from the budget see any reason for fearing
that France is making preparations to invade Eng-
land. She has determined that there shall be thir-
teen fewer ships and 2,000 fewer seamen kept in
yrance next year than were kept during the past
year; but we are told by the invasion gentlemen,
that we must not think anything of the budget—that
all that is done to blind you, to lull you into a false
security—the more France reduces her armament,
the more you ought to increase yours, beeanse they
have an infinity of means of getting money that you
know nothing about—that there are means of fitting
out fleets and paying seamen that are not made public,
and that all this reduction in the budget is nothing
more than an attempt to throw dust in the eyes of poor
John Bull.—(Cheers.) Those statements are very
perplexing, to say the least of them. Then ageiti,
whenever a basin is cut, or a hole is dug in France,
it is always to float a war steamer—there is never
any allusion to a desire in France for an increased
trade—there can be no wish on the part of the people
of Havre or Cherbourg to improve their harbours for
commercial purposes. France does not care for trade
—everything is with a view of invadings Ehnmgleaand.—
are
(A laugh.) I believe that we Enli
all interested in the improvement of
gthe harbours
of France ; and as to the breakwater at Cherbourg,
w'ay that is a work in which the whole world has
an interest, and to tell me that we are to reganl
such works with jealousy and suspicion, why I
cannot participate in such feelings, I have no sym-
pa by with them ; I glory in all these improvements,
and Ido not believe you have any right whatever
without facts or reason to impute to a great neigh-
bouring civilized country intentions only worthy of
hordes of savage barbarians.—(Cheers.) It is one
thing to say we will keep up a certain armament
because the world as a whole has not arrived at such
a state as to enable us to do without it; but it is
another thing to go out of your way to impute to a
neighbouring and friendly country such designs as
must excite in the heart of every honest man in
France a feeling of indignation that after se long a
peace his nation should be thought capable of such a
nefarious and wicked act. I cannot contemplate with
patience such an odious necessity as that there should
he hostilities between France and England, and I
trust it is not possible in the present status of the
world, that those two, at present friendly, neighbour-
ing countries, both advanced in civilization, can be
nursed by any wretched craft into a state of reciprocal
hostility.—(Cheers.) I hope I have not said too
much upon this point, but I know the men of Man-
chester do not like qualifications, and they always
suspect a gentleman connected with office.—
(A laugh) Why, I was told this very day by a
gentleman that he expected to hear when the time
came that I was suldenly taken ill with a fit of the
influenza, and would not be amongst you to-day.—
(Laughter.) But I never found candour bad policy, and
I am sure it is most satisfactory to one's own feelings.
I have told you broadly, and I tell it you conscien-
tiously and sincerely, that I have no sympathy what-
ever with what is called the " military spirit," but I
will not commit myself in this assembly or in any
other place to any particular vote or act in reference
to this question. I know not what the Government
mean to propose. I am not in their secrets, and
therefore cannot disclose them. They may hold the
same opinions that I do in reference to this invasion.
All I say is, wait—wait before you pronounce an
opinion upon them, at least till you hear
what they propose—pronounce an opinion on
the celebrated missive from Lancashire, on Mr.
Pigou, or on the Duke's letter—but pronounce
no opinion on the policy of the Government
when you are not in possession of it, and let sne re-
main open and free to act on my own judgment when
the time comes, and to give that vote upon this ques-
tion, if it should be presented to Parliament, which
I feel my conscience, my judgment, and my duty to
my country require of me.—(Loud cheers.) If on
this or on any other question I fail to give you satis-
faction, you will have an opportunity of settling that
account with me in a manner which I need not name
to this assembly.—(A laugh.) After briefly adverting
to the Jewish question, and expressing his opinion
that no declaration of religious faith should be re-
quired from any man as a condition of his ability to
discharge civil functions, the Right Hon. Gentleman
concluded amidst great applause by saying, that
-whenever an advocate should he required for the great
principles of commercial and religious freedom, he
should not be found wanting.
Ur. KERSHAW, M.P., proposed the following toast,
which was most rapturously received :—" The electors
of South and North Lancashire, the West Riding of
Yorkshire, and the other constituencies who have
returned free traders to Parliament."
It was drunk with all the honours.
Mr. COBDJN, on rising to acknowledge it, was re-
ceived with one of the most enthusiastic bursts of
applause it was ever our fortune to be witness to.
After several essays to speak, he at length said :—I
have, in the first place, to tender my thanks, and the
thanks of those gentlemen who represent North and
Smith Lancashire, and the West Riding of Yorkshire,
for the honour you have just conferred upon us. I
believe a very large portion of the Members for those
divisons of the counties are free traders, and I have
no doubt they will be found to do their duty to the sa-
tisfaction of this assembly. I have now been asked a
dozen times at least what was the object of this
meeting. I confess to you that I do not like to re-
gard it as a meeting to celebrate past triumphs, still
less to glorify ourselves, or one another. I wish
rather that it should be made to show that we are
alive to the future ; that having secured on the
statute-book a guarantee for free trade in
corn, we intend to make that the prelude to
free trade in shipping—that we intend to prevent the
West Indian proprietors from taxing this country ;
and that, in fact, we intend to carry out in every ar-
ticle of commerce the principles of free trade which
we have applied to corn.—(Cheers.) Now, our es-
teemed representative has so ably and efficiently an-
ticipated some points which I intended to refer to in
connexion with the sugar question, and has offered
such a justification of the principles of free trade,
that I am relieved from the necessity of reverting to
those subjects again, and I thank him most heartily
for the speech he has given us, which is one of the
ablest I ever heard in this hall. I leave the question
of free trade then—in all its details it is thoroughly
understood in this ball. That which I pointed out
as the future object of this meeting has your concur
rence, and no doubt every Member of Parliament on
this platform will join in carrying out those princi-
ples.—(Cheers.) Now, I wish to allude to another
subject, and though I deem that subject to have an
intimate connexion with free trade, I do not
presume fur a moment to speak the senti-
ments of any Member of Parliament or gen-
tleman beside me. I speak only for myself,
and wish to be understood as comprising no other
individual.—(Cheers.)have anticipated, to I
the
intention allude, as youwhmi :thy
has
probablybeen
announced of increasing our warlike armament.
Now, you will bear me out, that throughout the long
agitation for free trade,
whobe most earnest men to co-
operate were those constantly advocated free
o
trade, not merely on accountthe material advan-
tages it would bring to the community, but for the
far loftier motive of securing permanent peace in the
world, and I believe it was that consideration
mainly drew to our ranks that great accession whtiehh,
most
o of
impetus
to
agitation.
ministers of religion that gave sc. powerful
to our progress at the commencement of ouran
_(Cheers.) And I, who have known m
leading men connected with that struggle, and have
the
had opportunities of understanding their motives, be-
lieve that the most earnest, devoted, and persevering
of our coadjutors have been prompted by those far lof-
tier and purer, moral and religious motives to which
I have referred. lam sure that every one of those
men has shared with me the shock which my feelings
sustained when within almost one short twelvemonth
after we had announced ourselves free-traders to the
world, we are startled with the announcement that
we are going to increase our warlike armament. I
ask what is the explanation of it ? Probably we may
find it in the Duke of Wellington's letter, in his pri-
vate efforts, which he announces he has made with the
Government, and in the correspondence which he has
had with Lord J. Russell. We may attribute it then
to the Duke of Wellington'
his letter, and his per-
severing efforts. I don't profess to share the venera-
tion which some men
ri entertain for successful war-
ors ; but is there amongst the most ardent admirers
of the Duke one manpcTessing the ordinary feelings
who w
of humanity,
written and
would not wish that that letter
bad never been
never published ?
(Cheers). His Grace has passed the extremest
probable duration of human
existence, and we may
say, almost without a figure of speech, that he is tot-
tering on the verge of the grave.
lamentable spectacle that that hand Is it not a most
which is no longer
capable of wielding the sword should devote its still
remaining feeble strength to the penning of
a letter (and that letter m
his last public letter to his countrymen),
possibly be
more calculated than anything in the present ), which is
create evil passions and animosities inthebredaayts to
two great and neighbouring nations ?—(Cheers.)s
of
Would it not have been a fitter employment for hint
to have been preaching forgiveness and oblivion of
the past, rather than recalling recollections of Toulon,