The Sun.
London, England, 1860-10-29 00:00:00

LORD .P4L3IERSTON AT PONTEFRAC7:

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On Saturday Lord Palmerston paid a visit to Pontefract
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ration having been presented,
gentlemen,—I am sure you will •
Lo-d PALMERSTON' replied in the following terms
Mr. Mayor and
believe me when I tell you that it is with feeling s of the
utmost gratitude and the greatest have that I have received
the address which you, sir, have had the goodness to put into
my hands. Nothing can be more grateful to
any man who is
engaged in public life, than to meet, as it is my good fortune
to-day to do, a large and respectable assenablage of his fellow-
countrymen, gathered together to give him that welcome
which in any county is cordial, but which I know is in York-
shire more hearty than anywhere else; and to receive
also in that cordial and hearty welcome a testimony of at
least personal good will, even though that good will may in
some cases proceed from those who may politically differ
with him upon many important matters. (Hear, hear.)
On these occasions, gentlemen, it is personal intercourse be-
tween those who are engaged in the task of governing, and
those who contribute,by their industry, their activity, the a•
intelligence, and their individual prosperity to the great/ seas
and happiness of the country of which they are w orthy
members. (Hear, hear.) I appear before you, ger'Alemen,
however, not merely in the character of one of the servants
of the public and of the Crown, for I happen to b'd your near
neighbour—(cheers)—and though the interest which I
have in your neighbourhood may be comparatively small,
yet I can assure you that I feel the honour of being a
neighbour of great and prosperous comrarmities because I
share in the advantage which those pro',perous and indus-
trious communities scatter through the range which sur-
rounds their seat. (Hear, hear.) You have been pleased,
Mr. Mayor, to advert to the duties which it has fallen to
my lot to perform in conducting the foreign relations of
the country. I cannot take credit for anything in that
department which may have mer;ted your approbation ;
because the man, whoever he rr.ay be, who is entrusted
with the task of representing, towards foreign countries
the power, the dignity, and the commanding position of
this great nation, is arme,,, with means which, unless he
grossly shrinks from tb,e performance of his duty, must
lead him to accomplis'a ends which are sure to obtain
the assent and o',ncurrence of his fellow-country-
men. (Applause) It was no doubt the study of the
Government, of which I have the happiness of having
been a member, while on the one hand we maintained the
interests, the honour, and the dignity of our own country,
to exert that influence which we were able to command, as
representing the British nation, to favour and prosper those
principles of civil and political liberty abroad, of which we
have seen at home the great and splendid fruits. (Ap-
plause.) We were happy to be successful in many of the
attempts which we made in that direction ; and it is our
gratification to think that there are many nations of the
continent whose political and civil position has been greatly
improved, owing mainly no doubt to their own patriotic
exertions, but assisted by the countenance and support
which they received from the Government and people of
England. (Cheers.) Gentlemen, you have adverted to
domestic affairs. It is impossible, in this free country,
where every man has, as he has a right to have, his own
opinion—where men are not accustomed to bow to the de-
cision of others—where every man examines for himself,
reasons for himself, comes to his own conclusions, and
strong in the convictions which examination has produced,
maintains boldly and manfully his own position against any
difference that may arise from others ; it is not, I say, in
such a country as this that any man can expect to meet, as
I now do, a great and respectable assemblage of his fellow-
countrymen, and reckon that he shall find among them
unanimous consent to the particular opinions which he
himself may entertain. But it is by the conflict of different
opinions—it is by the examination not only of our own con-
victions, but of those of others who differ from us—it is by
that perpetual and constant agitation of mind, and conflict
of reason and opinion—that sound ultimate conclusions are
arrived at, which are found to be satisfactory, if not to the
whole, at least to the great majority of a thinking and
reflecting people. I trust, gentlemen, that that has hitherto
been the course of events, as far as regards that administra-
tion of which it has been my good fortune to be a member.
And I am persuaded that such will be for ever the course
which any body of men will pursue who may be worthy of
being entrusted with the conduct of the national affairs of
this great country. You have, Mr. Mayor, adverted to a
circumstance which, indeed, is most illustrative of the pro-
gress of human affairs. You have contrasted this magni-
ficent structure, the work of modern improvement—
calculated to supply the wants of the day, to fulfil those
desires and requirements of modern civilisation—
you have contrasted it with that ancient and venerable
relic of former periods which still forms an interesting
ornament to your town. (Hear, hear.) Well, Mr. Mayor and
gentlemen, that is a most instructive lesson as to the course
of human events ; and well may we congratulate ourselves
that we are now standing in this hall of commerce—in this
sanctuary of industry—instead of being assembled within
the walls intended for defence against external attack,
cramped in the exertions of industry, and trembling for an
axious future. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) It is indeed a
useful lesson to all who are disposed to read ; and it shows
how the progress of enlightenment, the progress of intel-
lect, the diffusion of knowledge, the increase of civilisation,
the augmentation of civil and political liberty—how these
things lead to personal and collective security, and how
that great aggregate tends, by increasing the security of
property, to afford a safe development for industry
(applause)—to multiply the happiness of the people, to in-
crease the wealth and the power of the country, and to con-
duce to all the improvement in society which every day
more and more qualifies men to ffll the dignified position
which his Creator destined for him in this life. (Cheers.)
Gentlemen, I congratulate you all upon having a Corpora-
tion animated by public spirit such as that which has sug-
gested the creation of this noble fabric ; and I am persuaded
that it will conduce as much to the improvement and de-
velopment of the industry and resources of the town, as it
redounds to the honour of the body who suggeated and accom-
plished it. I again beg, Mr. Mayor, to return you and the
Corporation my sincere thanks for the honour you have
done, in the address which you have had the goodness to
hand to me. (Loud cheers.)