The Sun.
London, England, 1858-08-10 00:00:00

NI?. B. OSBORNE BEFORE lIIS CaNSTI-

TUENTS AT DOVER.

On Friday evening last the above hon. and gallant gen-
lleman
who, as will be remembered, occupied the post of
secretary to the Admiralty in the Palmerston and Aberdeen
,A.drauistration, met a party of his constituents at the Royal
Oak Inn, Dover, in order to commuuicate to them the
benefit of his views on the state tf rublic affairs and the
lyv&ition of parties; as well ai to ju3tity his political career
since the last general election. Mr. Pinnis occupied the
chair.

Mr. OSBORNE, whose reception was very hearty, having I
fit the first instance dealt with certain topics of exclusively
local interest, proceeded to ;ay,—l shall now with your per-
miszion make a few observations upon matters of a general
interest. Great changes have taken place since I had
last the pleasure of meeting you. I hal then the happiness
of being accompanied by my hon. and gallant colleague,
whose conduct in flying like a true Briton to the post of
danger I cannot suffieieotly eulogise. (Cheers ) He has
gone to a distant land to do battle with the enemies of his
country, and I cannot help feeling that it is much to his
credit and to yours that you have so kindly accorded to him
leave of absence for that purpose. But, as I said, great
changes have been brought abut. I was then amongst
what are called the " ins;" I am now numbered amongst
the "outs." 1, however, am cons( led kr the change by
the hope that the circumstance of my having been
transplanted from the Ministerial to the Opposition
benches has not lost me your favour. (Cheers.)
I trust that in my new situation I shall be able to prove to
yos tbat,l am now—as I was when a member of her Majesty's
Government—your friend, and that I have your interests
and those of the country at large as much at heart as at any
former period of my life. (Cheers.) But in order to dis-
cover the causes of the change to which I have alluded, it is
necessary that we should trace back the occurrences of the
few months preceding the past session. We all know that
the last gereral election was based upon a false issue.
There was then a cry of " Palmerston," which I think
meant in the minds of those who started as candidates
for the favour of constituencies upon the credit of his
name, simply this :—" Every one for hithself, and Pal-
merston for us all." (Cheers and laughter.) That
was the prevailing sentiment at the time, and it has been, I
am afraid, but too literally carried out ; for having watched
the progress of affairs in the present House of Commons I
am disposed to believe that a great many persons have been
admitted to seats in Parliament on the faith of the cry
which I have just mentioned who entertain no decided opi-
nions—(hear, hear)—who are latitudinarians in political
principle, who are indifferent to party ties, and who, like all
Parliamentary sinners, are animated but by one strong
feeling—a horror of a dissolution. (Cheers and laughter.)
That is the sort of Parliament which it appears to me has
been collected together under :he influence of the Palmer-
ston cry. (Hear, hear.) Permit me now to say a few
words in reference to that noble lord. I am no idolater of his.
I never was his parasite while in office ; still less can I con-
descend to be his detractor in the hour of his misfortune.
(Cheers.) I thought, and I still think, that his popularity
was somewhat exaggerated ; but I cannot at the same time
help feeling that his fall from power has been in some mea-
sure undeserved. (Cheers.) The unfortunate meet with
but few sympathisers in this world. It has been said that—
" Men's evil measures live in brats,
Their good are writ in water."

(Hear, bear.) And It has, lam afraid, been forgotten that
the country owes some gratitude to Lord Palmerston.
(Hear, hear.) We ought, however, not to lose sight of the
fact Oat the old statesman—for he is, unfortunately, now an
old man—was the only person who could be finnan to stick
to his colours in a moment of great peril. He, when
Lis country was engaged in a great and danger-
ous war, was the only man who stood fast at the
beim ; and when you complain of some of the ap-
pointments which he has made, you must bear in mind
that fact, and recollect also, that those app ointments were
forced upon him, inasmuch as be was to a great extent de-
serted by all other statesmen. (Hear, hear.) I have
deemed it but right to give expression to those sentiments,
bkeause I am of opinion that but small consideration has
been shown to the virtues of Lord Palmerston, and that
much enmity has been attracted by his merits. We all
know that—

"The sunshine at the falling statesman's door
Fours on the morning worshipper no more."

But although I never expect to serve Lord Palmerston again
—notwithstanding that it was previous to tee downfall of
his Administration my intention, for reasons which it is un-
necessary to disclose, to resign the office I held in it—
a circumstance whicb, as it was known to many of my
private friends, I see no reason why I should conceal
from you. Yet I should feel ashamed of myself if I were
to abstain from offering some tribute of praise to a noble-
man who has now ceased to be master of his country, and
from making some attempt to defend him from the attacks
of these who have assailed his political conduct. (Cheers.)
Lord Palmerston, then' has fallen ; and though the eau:es
which led to his downfall are in themselves sufficiently
remarkable, yet I would not feel justified in entering upon
the subject at any length on the present occasion. It is
not my intention to detain you by di'cussing the merits
of the Conspiracy Bill. The policy of that measure I may,
however, be permitted to say appears to me to have been at
best of a somewhat questionable character. Still there
might have been reasons of State, unknown to the sub-
ordinate members of the Government, which might have jus-
tified the introduction of such a measure. But that which
I wish more particularly to bring under your notice is the
coarse taken with respect to it by the Conservative party. You
must all remember that the Conspiracy Bill was introduce I
into the House of Commons amid the acclamations of that
party ' • and they not only voted in a body in favour of its
being brought in, but that some of those who now bold high
office in the Government went out of their way to prove
that It was a perfectly legitimate measure. (Hear, hear.)
Well ; what subsequently took place ? At a moment when
distrust in public men so much prevails, it is desirable that
you should mark well their conduct. What, then, I repeat,
occurred? Why, tea days after this Conspiracy Bill had
been introduced amid the acclamations of the
Conservative party, they turned suddenly round,
aril having ascertained that with the assistance of
some 70 or 80 Liberal members they might defeat the Go-
vernment, they joined them in opposition to the measure,
and effected their object. Now I have nothing to say as to
the course which the 70 or 80 gentlemen I have just refer-
ved to took upon that occasion. They were, no doubt, in- 1
flueneed by motives which did them honour, but I may ob-
serve that I have since ascertained that whilst the effect of
their policy was to knock out the brains, their intention was
simply to rap the knuckles of the Minister. (Laughter.)
They had no idea that a new light would have fallen upon
that Conservative party which but a few days before had
been so unanimous in their support of the bill. But that
new light did dawn upon them, and there was an end of the
Palmerston Administration. Now, so far as I was per-
sonally concerned, having been about to take leave of office,
I cannot say I regarded the event with much
regret. I did, however, feel tome regret at finding that a
nobleman in his 74th year, who had rendered great services
to his country, should all at once be told that those services
were forgotten, while all his demerits should be written in
large brazen characters. (Cheers.) Well, Lord Palmer-
ston defeated, what next took place? Ooe would naturally
suppose that Lord J. Russell would have been sent for by
her Majesty to form a new Administration. Parliamentary
etiquette, however, decided in favour of the first proposal
being made to the Earl of Derby. He constructed a Mi-
nistry, and that Ministry is called Conservative. (A laugh.)
Now, that is a long word of four syllables, and ought to have
some meaning attached to it, and I for one should be much
obliged to any gentleman in this room bolding Corserva-
live opinions, or to any one of those old Tories who
had principles, and also knew what those principles were,
Hear,
hear.) tell me what is meant by a Conservative Ministry. (
ear,
hear.) One thing, at all events, is perfectly clear, thattac it her
Majesty's present advisers kold office simply by a
abandonment of their creed—a thorough abnegation of their
political faith. (Cheers.) All these measures of which
they are the ardent supporters while in opposition are
quietly shelved. (Hear, hear.) But in addition to that
this Conservative Ministry is composed of materials so ex-
ceedingly squeezable that you may wring anything out of
them you please. (Laughter.) It can, I think, be hest
defined as a Ministry which effects change without pro-
gress, and makes concession, without grace. (Cheers.)
In short, for I like plain speaking, I believe
a Conservative Ministry to be nothing else but
a gross imposture. (Cheers, and laughter.) When
their great leader, the late Sir Robert Peel, determined to
repeal the corn laws and to take off a tax which kept the
people of this country from eating cheap bread, they turned
vound upon him and pursued !lira with unrelenting bitter-
ness to the close of his life, for his conduct nith respect to
this matter was after all a purely fiscal question, but one, how-
ever, which also touched the packets of these Conservative
lentlemen. (Hear, hear.) New, however, when their
eader, assent to measures which year after year they have
opposed, not for ;common fiscal lessons, but on religious
grounds, they sit by the while, their arms quietly folded,
grumbling a little now and then, of course—keep office, and
call themselves a Conservative y part although their
lea lets are passing Radical measisres. (Cheers.)
What was their conduct with respect to the India
Bill ? That is a subject upon which I myself hold
ojefuione somewhat peculiar- I am not one of those who are
er,sfly del!ghted that the government of that country has
been taken out of the hands of the Company; because I
think etat, although there were many abuses Incident to its I
edentnistratien, it appears also that many advantages re-
sulted fra.nr it—such, for instance, as the distribution of
patronage among the middle elaesee in this country—a
benefit which it is exceedingly doubtful whether we shall
obtain under the r.ew system. (Hear, hear.) But to
revert to the course which has been pursued by the Con-
servative party on this question. Having in the first place
voted against the expediency of legislating for India
in the present session at all, they no sooner come
into office than they bring in an India Bill of their
. own. Now there is nothing which you have ever seen
:In punch—which I may just observe in passing sometimes
; pays me the compliment of alluding to me—that is half so
:farcical as that bill of Lord Ellenborough's, which was re-
e eived with derision from all sides of the House of Com-
e, one. Of that production I hardly know what has be-
d it. A funeral oration was pronounced over it, and
it
(01 usei
P a..sed away. Meantime in stepped Lord John Reis-
set; with his resolutions, and I must confess I think that
has been ill-treated by the Royal Humane Society
Debi a lord
for if ever a man was entitled to receive a medal
—Cleirgitter) sting
from that body surely his lordship dm! ved one for ha •
saved a whole Cabinet from drowning. (Cheers and laughter.)
stepped
ith his drags and life preservers we
I
H ad he not stepp
afraid, have a Conservative Ministry in
should not, stew
.that high .rate of preservation in which we find it at the
pre,ent. moment. ) The resslutions framed at
uscoer,tl
.d i ecNuoswsedi
t,
Cpl suzgon of the no e
India i *wllevrearlinstormode
I took no fle,iVa part in the debates
lists been asked Whc
r Rs CO disgusted with the
'ups! that measure ; the fact is, I
V•On•lott a the House of Cornmone with their running first
in oue lireeelon and then In another, their readiness to laud
Lord P,elmerot,eo. to the Algies when lie was in prweirs,
and thete• desertion of bias in the moment of his
downfall, that I dial not disposed to ea ter very
warmly in to the diecoesion even the Indian ques-
tion, The mill transferring the governeoent of that country
to the Crowe, passed into a law, but I have scarcely met a
single person .now amongst those who voted for it who does
rilataey je is a great failure, and that before the end of two
years it feint be replaced by another measure. I trust,
however, that the introduction of such a measure may not
faii to the lot of her Majesty's present advisers. lam justi-
that tispe, inasmuch as, owing to the
fied in entertaining'
which they have pursued since their accession
line of policy
we ainto,ollx do not know in what their
.to office, Hoar, hear.) The Couservative
einciples coteetiSilt•