The Sun.
London, England, 1867-09-12 00:00:00

Reform Soiree at Carlisle.

On Tuesday night a great soiree was held at
Carlisle, under the auspices of the Carlisle Reform
Association, in celebration of the passing of the
Reform Bill. Captain Fergusson presided at the
meeting held after tea, supported by Mr. E. Potter,
M.P., Sir Wilfred Lawson, Bart., and other influ-
ential gentlemen. Apologies were read from the
Hon. Charles Howard, M.P. for West Cumber-
land, and the Mayor of Carlisle, for their non-
appearance.

The CHAIRMAN briefly opened the proceedings,
reviewing the progress of the formation of the
Reform Bill, and said that, as to the share which
Mr. Gladstone, Mr. Bright, and others of the great
Liberal party, have had in moulding the bill
into its present shape, the records of the divisions
in the House of Commons would testify. He
called upon

Mr. THOMAS HARDY, who moved the adoption of
the following resolution :—" That this meeting
tender its warmest thanks to Mr. Edmund Potter
and other leading Liberals for their indefatigable
efforts to secure to the people so extensive a
measure of Parliamentary reform."
The Rev. Mr. LAMBERT seconded the resolution,
which was carried unanimously.
Mr. POTTER, M.P., then addressed the meeting.
Ile said he was exceedingly gratified at the resolu-
tion they had passed. He could hardly himself
claim to be one of the " leading reformers," but he
was at least a steady and honest reformer. He had
certainly worked hard through a hard session, and
he had had deco anxiety as to the passing of an
honest measure of reform. It had been a painful
thing to him to watch the movements of his party,
to see men with whom they had for so long a time
acted then leave their own party and vote for the
Tories. Whenever there was a doubt on his own
mind as to the course he ought to pursue, he came to
the conclusion that the plainest plan was to follow
their honest leader. He would not go through the
details of the session. It was q, session that would
hardly be fairly understood by the present genera-
tion, but it would be recorded in the pages of his-
tory. Beyond doubt it was Mr. Disraeli's session.
He would not say anything about the great Con-
servative party, but would only quote Mr. Stuart
Mill's words, that they were a stupid party. They
had shown themselves to be excessively stupid. He
could not understand how these men, who last year
set themselves against every measure of reform, and
who said the country would be ruined if they ad-
mitted the working man to the franchise, had
assisted in passing this bill. Neither could he under-
stand the conduct of those men who formerly be-
longed to the Liberal ranks—the members of the
Cave—who last year resisted Mr. Gladstone's bill,
and forced him to resign. How they could come
down and vote for this bill, which, if it were honest,
gave household suffrage in boroughs and a reduction
of the franchise in the counties—he, could not tell.
Mr. Potter referred at some length to the conduct
of Lord Derby, one of the proudest Tories of his
day, and how he had been induced by Mr. Disraeli
to take the " leap in the dark." Mr. Disraeli was
beyond doubt the Government of the present day.
He had led the aristocracy through the mud, for
mud it was. He (Mr. Potter) gave men credit
who changed their opinions, but was of opinion
that the great bulk of the Conservative party
had not changed their opinions for he himself had
not heard one single man of their party who bad
said a favourable word for the measure. They all
admitted that it was a dangerous " leap." And
why they had voted for it he could not tell. Mr.
Potter would not attribute motives for this strange
conduct ; but the motives were either from fear of
the people (Mr. Beales and his party), or else for
the sake of retaining office. He himself thought the
latter. Lord Derby had said it was time his party
had a turn, or, in other words, it was time they
had their innings. And they had had their innings,
and they might be sure that they would keep in as
long as they could. The Tories meant to keep
office, and the question they and the country had to
ask was whether they meant to keep office as Tories
or Reformers. The present bill, he said, could not
stand the test of years. Mr. Potter next referred to
the state of education in the country, and was of
opinion that education must be compulsory. He
referred to the great benefits that had accrued from
the Reform Bill of 1832, and said he could trust the
working classes to make a good use of the power
which had been entrusted to them. He thanked
them for the good opinion they had expressed as
to the part he had taken. One bill he had not
voted for, and that was the bill for enfran-
chising women. He thought they had enough of
reform measures on their hands, and they might
possibly take up this at another time.
Sir WILFRID LAWSON, who was received with
rapturous applause, moved the second resolution,
which was to the effect that household suffrage was
incomplete without the ballot. In a few sarcastic
sentences, the hon. baronet spoke of Mr. Disraeli
passing a Reform Bill. He believed that " Rest
and be thankful" would be the motto of Liberals,
but the motto of true Liberals must be in the lan-
gnage of Emerson in his last work—
" Go on without halting, without rest;
Turning better into best."
(Applause.) Ile thought there was a species of
consistency about Mr. Disraeli's conduct after all.
He dared say many of the audience had read the
" Biglow Papers." In one of those papers there was
a description given of a person called General
C., and he would take the liberty of saying Benja-
min D. instead of General C. :

Benjamin D. was a dreadful smart man,
Ile had been on each side which gave poor polf ;
But consistency still was a part of his plan—
110 was true to ono party, and that was himself.
The hon. baronet went on to show, by quoting from
Mr. Disraeli's speeches, wherein his consistency lay ;
and said the hope the Tories were indulging in was
that ignorance and vice would beat intelligence and
virtue. That was the hope of the Tories, who
trusted to the beer barrel to enable them to sur-
mount the independence of the voters, and to be
able to perpetrate class legislation. He next passed
on to speak of the ballot, which he strongly advo-
cated, and observed that the whole system of elec-
tioneering in this country was degrading and de-
moralising, and that the system of open voting was
at the bottom of it. having briefly referred to the
reform required in education, Sir Wilfrid concluded
by expressing his faith in the working classes. The
motion having been carried, another resolution,
pledging the meeting to use its best endeavours to
secure the return of Mr. Potter and Sir Wilfrid
Lawson at the next election, was also carried.

END OF THE TAILORS' STRIKE AT BRIGHTON.—
The strike among the operative tailors of Brighton has
ended. The "pickets" have been withdrawn, and the men
have requested to be re-employed, offering, should any
objection to them still exist, to take the matter into their
consideration. There is, however, but little work now
going on, and the masters are already well supplied with
hands. The masters, moreover, decline to treat with the
men as a body, though they are willing to meet them indi-
Vidually.—Brighton Guardian.