The Sun.
London, England, 1869-02-27 00:00:00

LIBERAL MEETING AT BRISTOL,

The "Operative Liberal Association" of Bristol had a
dinner together on Thursday, and obtained as guests Mr.
Morley, Mr. Mundella, and Mr. Richards, all M.P.'s.
Mr. RICUARDS, M.P., gave the diners his impression of the
House after a week's experience. He said that he found it
an uncommonly slow and dull place, and he earnestly hoped
something more lively would take place before long or he did
not think he should bo able to stand it. Ho was bound
to believe that the Trcsent House of Commons was
better constituted than the last. Ho was bound to believe
that, if only from the fact that Mr. Morley, Mr. Mun-
della, and himself were members of it. At the same
time he was free to say that on analysing its consti-
tuent elements it appeared to him to have far
too much of the old leaven which existed in previous
Parliaments. It had, however, one advantage, and that
was that it tad a larger proportion of earnest men than
there were in the last house, for somehow, under the good
tempered, superficial, and supercilious guidance of Lord
Palmerston, the house had become totally devoid of all real
interest and earnestness in public matters. Ho thought
there were men in the house now who were seriously intent
upon doing some good work, and if they proved themselves
disposed to imitate the last house in triviality he trusted the
country would make them to be in earnest.

Mr. MUNDELLA replied for her Majesty's Ministers. tie)
said he knew something of her Majesty's Ministers, and he
believed that never in the history of England was there a
Government so heartily bent upon making the people pros-
perous and happy as Mr. Gladstone and the men who served
under him. The first great labour which lay before them
was the question of the Irish Church, which had been a blot
and a slain upon our legislation for three hundred years. He
believed the investigation which the Government invited
into the mode of procedure at elections meant not only the
ballot but something more. Her Majesty's Govern-
ment were bent not only upon protecting the voter in
the free exercise of his vote, but upon preventing every
kind of corruption and impurity, and stamping it out
not only in Parliamentary, but also in municipal elections.
Adverting to Mr. Bright's "breakfast table," he pronounced
himself in that matter a disciple of the President of the
Board of Trade. Passing to education, he said he believed
in nothing short of a national compulsory system of educa-
tion. The greatest blessing the Government could confer
upon the people of this country was to give a good national
system of education, and although he was himself a
devoted and attached member of the Church of England,
he hoped no religious difficulty would be allowed to
stand in the way—that there would be no quibbling about
conscience clauses, while people were growing up without
knowing they had consciences, and ignorant of religion.
There would undoubtedly (the hon. member went on to say)
soon be trades unions legislation. He believed that the
men had as much right to combine to put their labour in a
joint stock and sell it in the best market as he and other
large capitalists had to form a joint stock bank. All that
Parliament could do for them was to place them on a foot-
ing to deal with the master or let it alone ; it could protect
their funds, and free them from the effects of conspiracy.
What he (Mr. Mundella) urged was this—when the men did
not agree with their masters, let them send a few honest
leaders to say that they were prepared to consult on matters,
and then let them sit down at the board of arbitration in equal
numbers, and whatever that board decided let the body of
men agree to and work to heartily.
Mr. MottLxv, in a large portion of his speech, referred to
the local victory that had been achieved by the Liberals of
Bristol. He then ran rapidly through the notices of
motion given, to show that there was plenty of
work cut out for the most industrious of the members
to carry through. He expressed himself unable to
understand why a landlord should have a preference in re-
spect to rent due to him over the ordinary creditor of the
tenant. The only reason that he had ever been able to dis-
oover was this, that the law was made by the landlords. -He
should also like to know why the property of a lodger
should be liable for the rent of his superior landlord. The
Irish Church, the dockyards, and some other general topics
were then commented upon, Mr. Morley in each case
approving of the course taken by the Government. On
the subject of , education he confessed that the word
"compulsion," as brought into contact with education,
created a difficulty to his mind, but he would begin by
an extension of the Factory Act. He had felt that those
who aro making money out of the labour of little children
should be made reEponsible to some extent for their educa-
tion, and he advoca el measures being taken to reduce the
number of what w, ro called " Arab" children in our great
towns. His concluding words referred to the ballot, which
he warmly advocated.

The Athenmum states that Rossini left three million
francs (X 120,000), and the city of Pisaro is entitled to all
the con-Tones property in Italy on condition that half of it
is paid to the widow.

A local paper says that Mr. Drax, the member for
Wareham, has so far recovered from his late illness as to
warrant him in the hopo of being able to attend to his par
liamentary duties in the course of a few weeks,

The Slumlord Mercury states that a bill of con-
siderable importance to agriculturists is about to be sub-
mitted to the House of Commons. It is entitled " The Adul-
teration of Seeds Act, 1869," and it enacts penalties
for the adulteration of seeds—a process which it ap-
pears has been carried on to a serious extent, both to the
prejudice of honourable seed merchants and the injury of
farmers. The clauses are calculated to enforce integrity,
and severely punish those who are cuiltv of fraud