The Sun.
London, England, 1848-01-07 00:00:00

S' ET. JANUARY 7, 1848.

mercial freedom, and especially of his disinterested
exertions to effect the political emancipation of the
borough of Boston, in July, 1847, when three hun-
dred and thirty-nine free and independent votes were
recorded in his favour."

THE COMMITTEE.—Messrs. J. Noble and Steven-
son, Treasurers; C. F. Barber, H. Bontoft, J. Par-
ker, T. Small, William WTed Tuxford, G. F. Bayley,
John Holland, Thomas Stator, John Snaith, Edward
Thompson, G. W. Winter, Secretary.
The CHAIRMAN, in presenting the plate, addressed
Mr. Wire as follows :—" Sir, it is my pleasing duty
to present to you this piece of plate. It is presented
to you as a testimony of our esteem, of our admira-
tion of your talent, and for your honest and straight-
forward conduct during the late election for the bo-
rough of Boston, when you were a candidate for our
suffrages. I feel I am only speaking the sentiments
of this meeting in thus addressing you, and wishing
that you may long live happily with it in your pos-
session. And when you are gathered to your fathers
itethhailtdre,a children as a testimony n maygodown toys,otiumrocahy of the
and your
approval
of the friends of liberty in Boston of your charac-
ter and conduct. It may be asked why give an
unsuccessful candidate a piece of plate ? The
cause of truth and liberty must not always be
measured by success. The greatest victories have
succeeded defeat after defeat. The last general
election throughout the country was a notable
example, and if it be asked what has been done, he
would reply that 62 Members have been returned to
the House of Commons pledged never to support
state endowments for educational or religious pur-
poses. And at the present time, look how they were
endeavouring to release from bondage their brethren
of -the Jewish perspasion. That question was ac-
tually walking through the House of Commons. A
short time ago would Lord John Russell have dared
to have acted in defiance of a protest signed by thir-
teen Protestant bishops ! Everything they observed
going on around them tended to show that freedom
was everywhere making rapid strides. It was true
they had not been successful in returning him (Mr.
Wire), and he looked upon this, as not only a loss to
Boston, but to the whole country. In other places,
however, the cause of freedom had been successful.
We have now in the House of Commons George
Thompson, Esq., and other men who will not be
bought or sold—(lmmense cheering)—but who will
faithfully use all their energies and all their talents
for the benefit of the whole community. I feel, then,
that we are justified in presenting this testimonial of
attachment to our friend Mr. Wire. I beg, in con-
r.lusion, in the name of this meeting, in the names of
the subscribers, and in the names of all lovers of civil
and religious freedom, to present to you, Mr. Wire,
this piece of plate.
The company here arosetand expressed their ap-
probation by loud cheers, which lasted for some
time, and which Mr. Wire acknowledged by re-
peatedly bowing. The Secretary, at the request of
the Chairman, read the inscription which has been
given above.

Mr. WIRE then came forward, when the cheering
was renewed ; he said—Mr. Mayor, Ladies and
Gentlemen,—l do not know of any situation so diffi-
cult to a man as that wherein he is required to speak
only of himself ; and yet I might be deemed almost
ungrateful for the numerous acts of kindness be-
stowed upon me if I did not on the present occasion
briefly allude to the reception I have met with on all
hands.—(Cheers.) When I came to Boston as the
advocate and champion of political and commercial
reform, I was anxious that my conduct throughout
the town should be the basis of the principles I advo-
cated, and by which I was actuated.—(Cheers.) You
received me kindly, and as kindly supported me,
though unsuccessfully. I proved the sincerity
of my principles by refusing to resort to
any of the disgraceful trickery so much in use
at an election contest; if I had, I should now
be Member for Boston.—(Loud cheers.) But, sir,
I must ever afterwards have tasked mfielf with
feelings of dishonour in my own estimation. I stood
forward as the advocate of peace—of liberty for the
poor—and protection to the rich. If I could have
been guilty of bribery, it might be that I might be
bribed myself—and have exhibited in my own person
the example of some of those men whose conduct we
have seen in our times. I look back with none but
pleasurable feelings for the part I took in that con -
test; I was only anxious to lend my humble efforts
to advance the interests of the coantry, and the glory
of the empire.—(Loud cheers.) To the 339 free and
independent votes recorded in my favour I shall ever
look back with feelings of delight; I account them
valuable because they were free. They came for-
ward spontaneously to give me thgir support, because
they believed in the sincerity of my professions, and
that I should best represent them in Parliament.
But though unsuccessful, still in regard of our purity
of election principles, we have sown the good seed,
and some day or other it will spring up to the honour
of the town and the benefit of the country. We
entered into the contest with the desire of ut-
terly annihilating bribery, which in the end
only tends to destroy the liberties of the
people. We were fully possessed of these feelings,
and never offered a bribe, and famous as Boston was
in the annals of electioneering, we stood forth as an
example of practical advocates of purity, and had the
delight of retiring with a consciousness that there
had been done nothing whatsoever that good men
could have objected to.—(Chiers.) We had no paid
agent or lawyer, or any of the usual attendants of an
election. We had a lawyer, it is true, but his ser-
vices were gratuitous, and he worked fairly to ad-
vance our principles and secure our object. But
what can be said of our opponents in this wetter,
when I saw with my own eyes the bribes offered and
intimidations practised in order to force men to vote
against me ? yet notwithstanding I received your un-
bought support. I feel more than I can express how
much I should have been degraded, not only in my
own estimation, but in the eyes of all good and true
men, if I could have resorted to the use of those
means to save my election which were put forth
against me. I believe that on the next occasion that
presents itself the liberal electors of Boston will pre-
vent the present singular anomaly of having in the
House of Commons one Member on one side and one
on the other. I will not sully the highly-interest-
ing and happy occasion by a reflection on the
conduct of one person during the late contest.
I trust that to the latest moment of my life I shall
remember the proceedings of this day with the most
grateful feelings for your kindness. To you, sir, to
the subscribers, and to this meeting, I beg to tender
my warmest gratitude, and hope that whatever re-
verses may come, Providence may spare me that I
may leave this as a testimony and a token that I have
lived aed not laboured in vain.—(Cheers.) Every
meeting where the public voice is heard may be con-
sidered as a something done to speed the cause of
human progress and liberty.—(Enthusiastic cheer-
ing.) All men are interested in the making of good
laws, and in the wise administration of those taws, the
poorest as needing protection, and the richits „feeling
the necessity of law and government for the whole:
community.—(Hear, hear.) I hop that the smaller
and larger towns will take an example from Boston
in the management of their elections. In all the
changes I have advocated I have had an eye for the
peace and welfare of the Crown, and whilst„tylvo.cats
ing the claims of the poorest I have not forgotten
those of the rich. In our election proceedings we
have been anxious for the inculcation of the purest
doctrines of religion, believing that we ought not to
separate them from the just exercise of poli-
tical rights.—(Hear, hear.) Early in life you, sir,
(turning to the chairman), began to advocate the
happiness and well-being of the many, but you never
separated the civil from the religious, but were
guided by one in the exercise of the other.—(Hear.)
Again I beg to thank the subscribers for this hand-
some present, and the electors for conferring on me
so much honour. I thank you, sir, for your many
acts of courtesy ; and if it should ever be my lot to
visit you again, let us hope by that time the good
seed which we have already sown will have sprung
up a glorious harvest of order, prosperity, and hap-
piness to the community at large. Mr.
c hire re-,
sumed his seat amidst loud and long-tinum
cheering.
The CHAIRMAN had hoped that the meeting would
have been favoured with the presence of Charles
Seely, Esq., M.P. for Lincoln—(Hear and cheers)._
but he regretted to inform tnem that he was unable
to attend, in consequence of an attack of the prevail.
ing epidemic, which confined him to his house.
Some hopes had also been raised that Mr. Henry
Vincent, the talented and popular lecturer, would
have been present, but he was delivering a course of
lectures at Lincoln, and the meeting for the present
evening was fixed some time before, and could not,
under the circumstances, be put off. He should
not, however, neglect the opportunity of en-
deavouring to effect an engagement with that gentle-
man for the delivery of a course of popular lectures in
this town. There was also their friend Mr. C. F.
Barber, who, through serious illness, was prevented
from being. amongst them.—(Hear, hear.) This
honest, consistent, and faithful friend, who had long
advocated the principles held by Mr. Wire, was, he
was ha!)py to inform the meeting, better that day
than he had been for some time past, and gave hopes
of certain, though of slow recovery.—(Loud cheers.)
kle (the Chairman), aceompanied by Mr. Wire, had

called to see Mr. Barber that morning, and speaking
of the present meeting he said, "I am prevented from
being with you in person, but my heart is with you "
And they believed him.—(Loud cheers.) Mr. Hol-
land had also, he regretted to say, been suddenly at-
tacked by the influenza, which was the reason of his
absence.—(Hear, hear.) They all remembered how
he worked at the last election. He shut up his shop,
and had a large bill posted on his shutters, on which
was printed, "No business transacted here until
after the election."—(Cheers and laughter.) He
now called upon the Rev. I. Watts to move the re-

solution.
The Rev. I. WATTS rose and proposed the follow-
ing spirited resolution :—" That it is the duty
of the people to enforce, and the privilege
and honour of the Government to carry

into practice, every principle which tends to de-
stroy all injurious monopolies; to open the way
for honour, place, and power for all classes of her
Majesty's subjects; to modify the law so as to make
it consistent with Christianity ; to discourage war, to
cultivate peace, to reduce taxation ; to assist in ithe
development of our national and colonial resources;
to aid the poor, to protect the rich, and to set an ex-
ample to the whole world, of a Government constantly
parsuing those arts which shall elevate and dignify
the people of this empire ; and thus, the reign of our
gracious Sovereign become memorable for the good it
has accomplished and the evil it has prevented." He
observed that the resolution he had just read to them
was indeed comprehensive in its character; if they
could only accomplish only half what it expressed,
they would be doing a great deal. It was very de-
sirable that we should exhibit in all our objects a
Christian spirit. The movement alluded to in the
resolution was in the right direction, and must be
considered as good and great, and a sign of the pro-
gress we are making. In fact, we must progress.
Who could put the world back again? With all our
light were we to stand. still and be less than our
fathers were ? No, depend upon it we niu4 go for-
ward. How absurd it would be to insist that what
suited the boy was suited to the man, and that
thing that suited him at ten years of age
would suit him at fifteen, and those of fifteen
when he had arrived at twenty. What hel was
satisfied with-at 20 did not satisfy him at 30, and
so on upwards. And as man in himself keeps pro-
gressing towards age, so must the world keep pro-
gressing towards all that was to benefit man. As we
make progress in the arts and sciences, we must also
advance in political knowledge, and as a consequence,
in civil and ecclesiastical knowledge. The world had
very much changed since he went to school. Did
they not perceive the force of this? Since that time
how many changes had been effected ? The Rev.
Gentleman at considerable length showed what
Christianity and other influences had wrought in
modern times. Alluding to the last election and the
defeat of Mr. Wire, he continued—lt was possible'out
of defeat to get victory; they must on the next occa-
sion that offered itself have, as Rowland Hill used to
say, " a long pull, a strong pull, and a pull altogether."
But he must conclude.—(Cries of "Go on.") It was
very easy for them to say " go on," but as the morn-
ing star disappeared when the sun mounted the
heavens, so he must now give way that the talented
gentleman near him might string them up with his
eloquence. He sincerely wished their friend Mr.
Wire every success which his honesty and his talents.
deserved at their hands.—(Loud cheers.)
F. BENNOCII, Esq., of London, said—lie felt great
pleasure in seconding the resolution. As some of
the matters named in the resolution would be dis-
cussed by the eloquent lips of his friend (G. Thomp-
son, Esq.) he would at once pass on to notice the
cause of the great distress which had lately been ex-
perienced in the commercial and monetary world. It
had been said by some that it was a visitation from
an over-ruling Providence ; by others that it was the
result of a part of a system which could not be dis-
pensed with. lie believed himself that the recent
distress was solely attributable to bad legislation, and
the question was how could they avoid it in future.
Some people thought over- trading had a share in the
causes which produced it. This had been urged too
frequently. But could they exchange their commo-
dities too frequently? The more Ade the more
profit, and the mare wealth they were able to amass
the shorter would be their hours of labour. Others
again have declared that the distress arose from un-
successful speculation. There was some truth
in this, but he thought that it was caused
by the evil laws which had been made in 1843.—
(Loud cheers.) Mr. Bennoch then entered into
a very lengthened detail on the currency question,
and pointed out the evils of the present monetary
system. The tendency of it was to make the
rich richer and the poor poorer. We measured
everything by the standard of gold, and the commerce
of the country suffered by it. All that we wanted
was faith in the medium of exchange. Gold was a
foreign product; yet if there was no gold, would not
the merchant of Manchester still exchange his cali-
coes for the products of Barnsley. Yet by the ab-
surdity of unwise and unjust legislation, nothing but
this foreign metal was allowed to represent the value
of four home productions. Why were they so par-
ticular that gold should be the only representative of
labour ? They could not eat it, and were not very
consistent in their appreciation of it at times. A large
quantity of it was daily used in making trinkets, and
most people were fond of displaying them, he had no
doubt. It was used for a great variety of purposes ;
among others for setting teeth in the gums of a
Dowager. The jewellers in Clerkenvvell, London,
destroyed 300,0001. worth of it annually for the pur-
poses he had named.—(Laughter and cheers.) Mr.
Bennoch then entered into the banking and railway
systems, showed the evils produced from the want of
accommodation to the great trading interests of the
country. Paper, he argued, had done everything.
Paper rebuilt Moscow, and made good all the damage
sustained by an invading army. Paper was enabling
Russia to subsidize England. Paper had brought re-
lief in all times of distress. In 1825 paper was
issued, and stayed the panic ; and in 1847 paper saved
the country from ruin.—(Loud cheers.)
The Rev. T. MaTTnews rose to move the third
resolution. It was not very agreeable to have to
move a resolution which he knew was to be seconded
by Mr. G. Thompson; that gentleman had cut and
slashed him up the night before in such a manner—
(Laughter)—that he should best consult his own feel-
ings by simply reading the resolution, believing that
all justice would be done to it by the highly talented
Member of Parliament who would second it. The
Rev. Gentleman then read the following resolution :
—" That this meeting rejoices in the, happy progress
made in the development and application of the prin-
ciples of freedom, advocated and partially adopted in
trade, in civil polity, in religious rights, and antici-
pates for this kingdom a long and brilliant career of
prosperity, a glory when, both at home and i:v:xt.ir
colonies, trade shall be completely free "I.
religious and Christian
to civil rights, and when truere Jgdi
abstructive monopoly, when all men shall be admitted
cement. this na-
utual interest and
tsn feeling
v.,
&sternal affection." There was plenty here for him
i tshh aoltih others universally
th e bond prevail o f and
to dilate on for an hour or two ; but he very cordially
left it in Mr. Thompson's hands to do justice to
the subject.—(Cheers and laughter).
GEORGE THOMPSON, Esq., M.P., was happy that
it was his turn to speak again after the Rev. Gentle-
man who had just sat down, and when he looked
around him and saw so many of the other sex present
he would assure them that they would not hear any-
thing from him calculated to cause anxiety in the
bosom of any fair lady. He honoured too much the
feelings of conjugal affection subsisting between par-
ties on his right and on his left. The two gentlemen
on the platform, and who had previously addressed
them, had come accompanied by their ladies, whose
presence gave so much grace and effulgency to the
meeting. But he was himself alone,
" No bosom throbbed and swelled for him."

—(Laughter.) Nothing became the ladies better than
the interest they felt in all that related to the welfare
and happiness of even the poorest of their fellow-
creatures—

No radiant pearl which crested fortune wears,
No gem, that twinkling hangs from beauty's ears,
Not the bright stars which night's blue arch adorn,
Nor rising suns that gild the vernal morn
Shine with such lustre, as the tear that breaks
For other's woes down virtue's manly cheeks !"
Woman then was the mother of freedom, the nurse o
the sons of freedom, and it was her, and her alone,
that could give grace and beauty to all that it was
possible for Governments to bestow. He did not feel
sorry because Mr. Wire had been unsuccessful at the
last election. He thought if any one ought to regret
it was those who had won, not those who had lost,
when they considered the means by which they had
succeeded. They had not won nobly, but Mr. D.
Wire and his friends had lost nobly, and if it was
their opponent's turn to-day it would be somebody
else's to-morrow. The cause they ;were engaged in
was dear to them all ; it was the cause of God ; and
it must go on civilizing, instructing, and humanizing
mankind to the end of time. Let not the people of
Boston mind the croakings of any who might live by
advocating the cause of intolerance, and who in their
rounds left the slime of their corruption to show
where the reptiles had been. They have their triumph
now—and let them have it—
., We'll write their epitaphs when they're gone."
They had sown the good seed in Boston, which would