The Sun.
London, England, 1867-01-12 00:00:00

The Attorney-General at Glouc?ster.

Yesterday evening, at the Shire-hall, Gloucester, a
public dinner was gived to Sir John Rolt, M.P.
the Attorney-General. The Duke of Beaufort oc-
cupied the chair. There were also present the Mar-
qua of Worcester, Earl Bathurst, Sir M. E. H.
Beach, M.P., Mr. W. W. Beach, M.P., Mr. R. S.
Holford, M.P., Mr. Schreiber, M.P., &c.
The loyal toasts having been given and responded
to,

Sir GEORGE JENKINSON proposed the toast of the

evening.

Sir JOHN ROLT, who was enthusiastically received,
said, in reply, that from the bottom of his heart he
thanked his friends for their cordial greeting. They

all knew that he had been connected with (+lone es-

tershire since childhoo 1, in a way somewhat humble,
but not less dear on that account. (Hear, hear.)

Ills first ambition was, when he had surmounted the

struggles of early life--the first years of an arduous

profession—to plant himself among them. It was
now 20 years since he began to realise those aspira-
tions, and from that time to the present his life had
been before them. Ten years since they sent him
as their representative to Parliament. Again and
again they renewed that confidence in him, and
through the course of events, without solicitation,
he had become her Majesty's Attorney-General.
(Cheers.) Their welcome to-night had not been

given to him merely as an individual, neighbour, and
friend, but they had associated his name with that

of a position he filled as their representative in Par-

liament, with that office which he had now the honour
to hold under the Crown., Their meeting, there-
fore, had somewhat of a political aspect, and itwould

be a sign of ,weakness on his part were he to shirk
the responsibility thereby thrown upon him. Never-

theless, this was not an occasion for entering into
the details of political discussion, or to point out the
details of measures it would in his opinionbe advisable
to adopt or advisable to resist. Their object to-night,
so far as politics were concerned, was to vindicate

and assert their attachment to the broad principles o

that Constitution to which in the main we owed our

prosperity as a nation—their attachment to that
specific form of Government under which we lived.
(Cheers.) It was wise sometimes to look to the

foundations of the noblest and best constructed edi-

flees, and at the risk of talking platitudes and giving

utterance to truisms, it was wise for the Conserva

tires at least to examine the principles of that Con

stitution which was said to confer liberty with-
out licence and equality of rights upon all. But
among the friends and supporters in the Western

Division of Gloucestershire there were some who

refused to be enrolled in the ranks of the Conserva

tive party; there was, however, not one among

them who had not the same attachment to the Con

stitution and that specific form of Government to

which he had referred— a limited monarchy ; in-
deed, it was due to all those who up to this time
had been the main opponents of the Conservative
party, in this country at least, to say that they pro-
fessed a profound attachment to that Constitution.
The only difference between them and the Conser-
vative party was a difference of details. Into details
he would not enter, but he asked every friend of the
Constitution these questions—What did that com-

mon attachment to the Constitution involve ? and
what were the duties which at this juncture it im-
posed upon them ? He would attempt a somewhat
general answer to this somewhat general but most
important question. It was a trite observation that
the great difficulty with which every mixed form of
Government, such as ours was, had to contend, was
that it had to preserve the balance of the several
powers of Government which it called into action,
and to give to each a substantial and important part
to play in the administration of affairs, without
enervating or impeding the action of the general
Government. (Hear, hear.) The absolute mo-
narchy, the pure oligarchy, the unchecked de-
mocracy, were alike free from difficulty ; more-
over, each power in itself was subject to this ob-
servation—that the freedom we had so long en-
joyed was in danger from the separate domination
of either. (Hear, hear.) We in England had mas-
tered this difficulty. The several powers were so
fairly balanced as to suggest a sort of self-adjusting
power. There were former eras in our history when
there might have been danger from the too great
ascendancy of the Sovereign or of the aristocracy.
But these dangers were past. Nobody saw any dan-
ger of that kind now. Aggression from the Sove-
reign or the House of Lords was not apprehended.
If danger there was it was in another direction—the
danger of the democratic element, which sought by
force to exceed its just proportion of power. He felt
be was approaching the great question of the day—
the question of the redistribution of the powers .of
'Government—the question of the reconstruction of
the House of Commons and the representation of the
people. (Hear, hear.) Certainly, however, he did
not mean to say anything on this question. It was
not within his province, nor was it his intention, to
-say what was the policy of Government at this junc-
ture—a policy of action, or a policy of inaction ;
but he thought he was entitled to say, and he would
say, that those who professed a common attachment
-to our Constitution should bear in mind what would
be the effect of the course they took with respect to
the increase of the democratic element. Of course,
if the democratic element was swamped by the So-
vereign or the House of Lords, the just balance of a
limited monarchy was necessarily disturbed; but if,
on the other hand, the democratic element by force
acquired more than. its just proportion of power,
there could be no balance ; and the duty of every
man at this juncture, whatever his party politics,
was to regulate his judgment and form his action
with reference to every proposal for organic changes
of the Constitution by this consideration—what
-would be its effect upon. the true character and
united action and just influence of every branch of
the Legislature? That question, being faithfully
and fearlessly put and honestly answered, he had no
fear of the result. We had steered through greater
troubles than any before us, the winds were still
from heaven, and with the helm in the hands
of a competent statesman our Constitution.
would be preserved to the remottst generation.
(Cheers.) This might b 2 said to be vague—to give
no test, but he begged to think otherwise. We were
• apt to take blessings as a matter of course. With-
out looking at the foundation or theprinciples which
crave us those advantages, we were apt to forget
them--to lose sight of them ; but if these principles
could be steadily kept in mind, he felt perfectly
satisfied it would be enough for the purpose if the
desire was to steer a just and middle course. On
the other hand he should be told—and really ad-
verse criticism spoke-with candour—that these were
the sentiments of men opposed to all improvement
—of the sticklers for everything strictly loyal and
constitutional—of the enemies of all progress ; but
when anybody talked to him of progress he was apt
to say, " What progress? in what direction ? by
what road ?" Everything depended upon that. He
might say that he was opposed to that progress
which travelled in a circle, disturbing everybody
and everthing in its course, and ending where it
began. (Laughter and cheers.) Change for change
sake he disliked. He was opposed to that progress,
made up of spasmodic acts, or acts by fits and starts
and which did not look carefully to the end to be
reached, which did not consider the road by which
to travel, and which rushed on a headlong course,
• heedless of the goal to be reached. But the progress
that carefully sat down and first considered the
object to be gained, that looked at the roads which
the ancient landmarks of the Constitution pointed
out, which carefully ascertained the end to be gained,
which, having looked at the growth and develop-
ment of. the people, traced its pi ogress by that
growth and development, and not forcing or stimu-
lating development for either party or momentary
purposes—to that progress, followed out to its end,
regardless of all obstacles, he and the Conservative
party were fixed. That progress, they said, should
be their watchword, and they were prepared to
go as far in it as be who went farthest.
(Cheers.) lie would illustrate the advan-
tages of such a constitution and such a
policy by reference to the state of things in their
own county. Their county was largely agricultural.
Agriculture predominated. There were large estates
and small patrimonies. Of the large estates some
had been long inthehandeof historic families, others