The Sun.
London, England, 1860-10-26 00:00:00

LORD rAzarßz STON AT LEEDS.

LEEDS, THURSDAY.
If one may judge by the enthusiasm exhibited
by the people here in favour of the noble viscount
who now rules the d eatinies of this great empire,
he will find no diffic Alty if at any time the vicissi-
tudes of party shou' Id irece.ssitate an appeal to the
country, and the rive,rton Conservatives and Char-
tists should coml aiTae against him, in obtaining a
more important as well as more numerous consti-
tuency in this the great centre of our woollen
manufactures, The noble lord, who travelled by
the ordinary ,express train leaving King's-cross at
noon, arrived at the Leeds terminus of the Great
Northern Itailway punctually at six o'clock, the
time fixedk by the time-bills. The noble lord, who
was aeco.mpanied by Lady Palmerston and the Right
Hon. W. Cowper, the Chief Commissioner of
Works, must have been somewhat astonished at
the lusty and continuous cheering which poured
forth from the united voices of upwards of a thou-
sand throats, and was repeated and renewed from
the moment the train appeared in sight until it
had handed its freight and the more important
portion of it had been driven beyond the confines
of the town. So warm and earnest were the
congratulations that the distinguished party to
-whom they were offered were not a little incon-
venienced by them. It was all very well to
cheer " Palmerston for ever," to give another, and
again another for Lady Palmerston—a tribute to
gallantry which honest and genial Yorkshire is
never slow in paying—but a dense wall of some
1,800 persons wedged in and locked together, and
shutting up every means of egress, all shouting
welcome at the top of their voices, soon became
very like a veritable trial of human patience. The
necessary delay occasioned by the removal of the
noble lord's travelling carriage from the railway
truck, and harnessing the horses to it, enabled the
crowd to form a phalanx which was all but impene-
trable ; and fora time all attempts to dislodge them,
which the energy of the railway officials and the
local police were enabled to make, were met with a
good-humoured defiance, which rendered them
completely futile. While his lordship and his lady
were in the waiting-room waiting for the carriage,
the honest Yorkshiremen, who had crowded to the
station to evince their good feeling towards the Pre-
mier of England, seemed suddenly to have recol-
lected that he had come down to the north specially
to make speeches, and at once resolved that he
should begin by informing those who were not in a
position to command facilities of introduction to the
town-hall, or invitations to Kirkstall Grange, what
his opinions were upon foreign and domestic politics
in general, and the affairs of the West Riding in
particular. Accordingly when he emerged, and
while the officials and servants were endeavouring
to force a way through the crowd to the carriage
door, a demand was made for a speech. The noble
lord laughed, but seemed by no means disposed to
establish a precedent so contrary to etiquette. At
length, however, observing the coachman seated
with reins in hand, and the carriage door invitingly
open, but blocked up by a triple row of stout, and
apprently obstinate northcountrymen who would
not budge an inch until their desire was in some
measure gratified, and whose repeated appeal of
" Only just a few words, my lord," it was almost
impossible to resist, he made a virtue of neces-
sity and said, " Gentlemen, there is a good
old saying, Welcome the coming, speed the
parting guest.' You have been very kind in re-
ceiving us. I hope you will let us have a lane to
get !away." This sally elicited loud applause and
laughter. An opening was immediately made in
the vast crowd, and amid tumultuous cheering his
lordship, Lady Palmerston, and Mr. Cowper passed
to an epen carriage, drawn by four beautiful grey
horses, and drove off to Kirkstall Grange, the seat
of William Beckitt, Esq., whose guest they will be
during their stay in Leeds. The domestic circle at
Kirktitall is increased also by the presence of Lord
and Lady Fitzwilliam, the Countess of Essex, the
Marquis de Fontenelle, Sir John Ramsden, M.P.,
and the Hon. Mrs. Ramsden, Miss Johnstone, Mr.
Meynell Ingram, Admiral Meynell, and Mr. Hugo
Meynell, who have been invited to meet the noble'
lord.

The original programme extended over two days
oYaly—to-day and to-morrow—but since it became
generally known that the noble lord intended to
visit the West Riding, invitations to take part in
different pablic ceremonies have poured in upon
him, and the engagements he has made are much
more numerous than were at first contemplated,
First of all this afternoon he had a conference in
the mayor's reception-room, at the Town-hall, with
representatives from the Chambers of Commerce
of Leeds, Hull, Sheffield, and other towns in the
county on the subject of the Amendment and Con-
solidation of the Bankruptcy Laws. His lordship
presided in the evening at the soiree of the Leeds
Mechanics' Institution and Literary Society in the
Victoria-hall, the spacious and splendid edifice
which was opened by her Majesty two years ago.
The main purpose of this great gathering, to at-
tend which was the original object of the premier's
visit to the town, is to inaugurate the proposal for
the erection of a new Mechanics' Institute and
Schools of Science and Art, in consequence of
the deficilmt accommodation afforded by the
existing building. To-morrow, at noon, the Leeds
corporation will present a congratulatory address
to the noble viscount—again in the Victoria-hall,
to which no less than] 1,800 tickets of admission
have been issued, and the event is to be attended
by all the state and ceremony which the muni-
cipality can display. A far more humble,
but yet very praiseworthy demonstration
will be honoured by the premier's presence at
a later hour of the day—namely, the annual meet•
ing of the Leeds Ragged School and Shoe Black
Society, at the Music-ha;l, in Albion-street. Here
his lordship takes the chair, and the youthful mem-
bers—picked up shoeless, in tatters, hungry, and
neglected in the slums and alleys of this populous
and ever-busy hive of manufacturing indastry—
will have the advantage probably of being coun-
selled and advised by the foremost Englishman of
his di y. On Saturday his lordship becomes the
Rues t of Mr. It. M. Milnes, M.P., at Freyston-hall,
near Pontefract ; and on the same day he will re-
ceive an address from the corporation of that town,
and open the new market-place which they have
l'ecently built. During his stay here the noble
viscount will meet the tenantry of his Fairburu
estate, who have invited him to a luncheon at the
vicarage, Ledsham, which has been placed at their
disposal for that Purpose by the Rev. Mr. Landon.
At the recent rent audit a memorial from the
tenantry was presented to the noble lord, stating
that they would be greatly honoured if he would
.accept
them an
agriculturists of Yorkshire were quite as anxious as
their manufacturing and trading neighbours to
offer his lordship a warm and heßrty welcome.
An enthusiastic reception would also appear to
await him at Wakefield, whither he goes on Wed-
nesday next, the corporation of that town having,
immediately upon hearing that his lord S
1"p pro-
posed to visit Colonel Smyth, M.P., organised mea-
sures to celebrate the event in a conspicuous man_
ner. It is understood that he will be entertained
at a grand banquet, and that the day will be kept
as a gala day in Wakefield. Sir J. Ramsden, Bart.,
M.P., will also, it is stated, receive a visit from
Lord Palmerston at his seat, Byram Hall.

Lord Fitzwilliam, the lord lieutenant of the
county, arrived iu Leeds in the course of the after-
noon, and formed one of the distinguished party

entertained last night at dinner, at Lirkstal

Orange.
The deputation from the chambers of commerce,the
lawn councils, and trade protection societies in the
.eoeitY,who met the noble lord in the mayor's fine
suite of State rooms this afternoon, numbered over
.190 persons, and comprised representatives from
Leeds, Wakefield, Bradford, Sheffield, Halifax,
Huddersfield, Hull, Batley, and other places.
4Neng those present (besides the noble viscount)
were the Mayor of Leeds (Mr. Wm. Kelsall), Sir
e 1
John Raules,
Bart., M.P., Mr. Titus Salt, M.P
Mrs ' :Bain "
M.P , M.P., Mr. Frank Crossley,
uorie'7l Leathern, M.P., Mr. Samuel.
IlkYer Of Bradford, the Mayor of

Halifax, and many gentlemen of influence in the
West Riding.
Lord Palmerston arrived precisely at three
o'clock, and was reeeired by the mayor, the alder-
men, and town clerk. As the noble lo d walked
up the apartment the company greete , him with
three rounds of cheering.
The noble lord having taken his place,
Sir J. RAMSDEN, as the leader of the deputation,
read the list of places and societies represented, and
the gentlemen of whom the deputation eras com-
posed, observing that their number would be a suffi-
cient proof of the strong feeling existing in that
part of England on the subject of the bankruptcy
laws. He reminded his lordship that about a year
ago a deputation waited upon him in London, to
urge upon the Government the earnest desire of
the commercial bodies and towns represented, that
the subject of bankruptcy reform should be taken
up in the ensuing session,with a view to legislation
upon it. The assurance which the noble lord gave to
that deputation was fully redeemed by the intro-
duction of the bill of the Attorney-General, with
the leading features of which he (Sir John Rams-
den) believed he was authorised by the gentle-
men now present to express their approval. There
were of course details upon which there might be
be difference of opinion, but in a bill of between
400 and 500 clauses that was impossible to avoid.
Upon these points of difference, however, he did
not propose to trouble his lordship, it being
thought more desirable to bring them under the
notice of the Attorney-General, by whom, no doubt,
they would receive due consideration. It might
possibly seem to be touching somewhat upon the
rights of hospitality to trouble his lordship on such
an occasion with so large a deputation, and that
they had even too keen an eye to business. (A
laugh.) But the subject was one which attracted
great attention in the West Riding, and they had
sought this interview principally with the view of
convincing his lordship of the extent and univer-
sality of that feeling in the manufacturing districts
of Yorkshire—not only of the West Riding, but of
the other ridings as well. Their present object was
to express an earnest hope that the subject would
again receive the attention of the Government, and
that a bill would be introduced as soon as possible
in the next session of Parliament. They were
quite aware of the difficulties that pressed upon the
Government during the present year, and the diffi-
culty they had of carrying the bill of the Attorney,
General, encumbered as they were with other im-
portant business. He hoped that no such obstacles
would interpose in the coming session. They (the
deputation) remembered, on one occasion, when
there was a factious opposition to the Divorce Bill,
an intimation from the noble lord that it was the
determination of the Government to press that
measure through ; that announcement at once had
the result of putting an end to the opposition, and
bringing about the object desired. The deputation
ventured to hope that in the ensuing session the
Government would give this question of the state
of the bankruptcy law such early consideration as
would make it possible for some measure to pass
without the delay of another year, and, by at the
same time declaring their determination to press it
through, avoid those impediments which might
otherwise be interposed. In conclusion, he would
ask his lordship to hear such observations as
the gentlemen present might think it necessary to
offer on the subject ; and first he would introduce
the deputation of the Town Council and Corpora-
tion of Leeds, whose address the Town Clerk would,
with his lordship's permission, now read.
Mr. SMITH, the town clerk, then read the follow-
ing memorial, which was afterwards handed to his
lordship :
"To the Right Hon. Lord Viscount Palmerston
—The memorial of the mayor, aldermen, and bur-
gesses of the borough of Leeds, in the county of
York, in council assembled, on Wednesday, 0ct.24,
1860—humbly showeth,
" That your memorialists have to express their
conviction of the present unsatisfactory state of the
laws relating to bankruptcy and insolvency, and of
the necessity there exists for some measure for the
amendment and consolidation of those laws. That
your memorialists would also express their entire
concurrence with the general principles of the bill
introduced by her Majesty's Government in the
last session of Parliament, intituled 6A. bill to
amend and consolidate the laws relating to bank-
ruptcy and insolvency in England. Your memo-
rialists therefore hope that her Majesty's Govern-
ment will, as soon as practicable, introduce the bill
formerly presented by her Majesty's Attorney-
General, or some other measure containing similar
provisions for carrying out the purposes herein
referred to."
Mr. Wm. KELSALL, the Mayor of Leeds, said he
would make no comment upon the memorial, which
spoke for itself, except to state that it was signed
by 64 members of the town council.
Mr. Alderman VICKERS presented a memorial to
the same effect from the town council of Sheffield.
Mr. LUPTON also read a similar memorial from
the Leeds Chamber of Commerce, pointing out the
unsatisfactory state of the existing bankruptcy and
insolvency law, and expressing an earnest hope that
the bill of the Attorney-General would be re-in-
troduced next session, and supported by all the
influence of the Cabinet. He added that in the
whole course of his business experience he never
recollected so much unanimity being shown among
the mercantile and commercial classes as upon this
question. (Hear, hear.)
Addresses, which were merely echoes of the above,
were presented from Sheffield by Mr. Jobson Smith,
president of the Chamber of Commerce ; and from
Halifax by Mr. John Crossley, the latter gentle-
man mentioning as an illustration of the working
of the existing law, that in one bankruptcy case, is
which £415 of assets was paid into court, the un-
fortunate creditors only received £22 or 21d in the
pound. (Laughter.) He trusted that the noble lord
would not allow another session of Parliament to
pass without dealing with the subject in a compre-
hensive manner. (Cheers.)
Further memorials were read by Mr. UN WOOD,
from Hull, and by Mr. FOSTER, from Bradford.
Mr. W. BECKETT said he wished to put in a word
on behalf of the banking interest. (Hear.) It was,
however, only to say that the bankers fully con-
curred in all that had just been said, and that they
wished some satisfactory measure to be speedily
passed. (Hear, hear.)
Lord PALMERSTON said—l can assure you that I
myself individually, and all my colleagues in the
Government, feel the force of all those arguments
which you have now repeated to us, and which
have been put to us before. We are quite aware
that the present state of the law is exceedingly un-
satisfactory and works great injury frequently to
persons who are under the necessity of having re-
course to it, and I was in great hopes that we
should last session have been able to pass the bill
which the Attorney-General, with great labour and
with a great sacrifice of his professional emolu-
ments, had prepared. (Hear.) I don't like to state
the sum, but he assured me that the time he had
been obliged to devote to the preparation of that
bill had been considerably withdrawn from his pro-
fessional pursuits, and that he incurred a very large
sacrifice of professional emolument in the promo-
tion of the public interest. Well, when the bill was
brought in, I had sanguine hopes that we should
pass it into law ; but everybody knows that the last
session was a session of a peculiar character. Mat-
ters of great importance were brought before Par-
liament ; discussions, perhaps of unforeseen length,
ensued upon them, and nobodycouldco
su
command the
time and opportunity when particular
should come on. The most important measures were
sometimes hustled back to a much later period than
we could have wished, and it did so happen that we
were unable to carry that bill through. At one
time I was so strongly impressed with the belief that
we could carry it that I hazarded the declaration of
an intention similar to that which Sir John Rams

den has mentioned as having been successful in the
case of the Divorce Bill, viz., that if the house were
to sit until September I would go on with the mea-
sure. But human resolves are not always realised
by events—(a laugh)—and when it came to the
time when that bill could be gone on with we found
ourselves with a bill of, I think, upwards of 540 or
550 clauses, with very strong objections as to what
was imagined to be the effect of many of them by a
large portion of the house, with the certainty, there-
fore, of a very long discussion. And the time at that
period of the session did not allow the prospect of
carrying it through in a manner satisfactory to the
country and the parties concerned. And therefore,
with the greatest reluctance, the Attorney-General
aid myself were obliged to give up all hopes of
carrying the bill through last session. I can assure
you, gentlemen, that our feeling and intention is to
bring in a bill at an early period next session.
(Cheers.) I should hope that, although the bill is
long, and involves a great many details, we shall
have time, and opportunity, and means
of carrying
it as it is, or with such modifications as on discussion
and examination may be found necessary. You are
all aware of the points on which objections have
been raised. It was imagined—l am ashamed to
Bay that I have not read the bill through. I have
taken its general character
throughracterf the leadingromtheAttorney
General, and have gone
prin-
ciples. There wasb,arinsyie4o
r them
are e aware,as greatmeasure
on
appre-
hensionnon-
as to the ea
ear.) It was thought that the very
traders. (Hear, h