The Sun.
London, England, 1866-08-10 00:00:00

Liberal Demonstration in Staffordshire

On Wednesday Lord Alfred Paget gave an entertain-
ment to his political supporters and their female relatives
in the grounds of Swinfen Park. There were two tents
erected in the park, within view of Swinfen Hall; one of
these was fitted up with a refreshment counter, and the
other, capable of holding 600 people, was devoted to the
entertainment of the invited guests. At three o'clock the
large tent was occupied by upwards of 400 of Lord Alfred's
male supporters, who were regaled with a good substantial
repast. Unfortunately for the complete satisfaction of the
guests, the weather proved unpropitious, the rain coming
down heavily ; and, still worse, at the last moment, Lord
Alfred forwarded the best of all reasons for his absence—
an engagement at Court. In his absence, however, a
speech was made by one of the members for the city,
Major the Hon. A. H. Anson. There were also present
the mayor (Mr. J. C. Maclean), Mr. C. Simpson (town
clerk), Rev. R. Co wpland (incumbent of Weesford), Rev.
R. W. Essington (vicar of Shenstone), Rev. T. 0. B.
Floyer, Mr. Shemmonds (high sheriff), Mr. R. C. Chawner,
Mr. C. W. Swinfen-Broun, Mr. T. A. Griffith, Mr. Cross-
key, Mr. James Broun, of Glasgow, &c.
The usual loyal and patriotic toasts having been given,
The MAYOR then proposed "The health of Lord Alfred
Paget." (Cheers.) He was nut only an excellent new
Liberal, but a very excellent old Liberal. (Applause.)
Lord Alfred was a Liberal when it was not so fashionable
as now to be a Liberal—when men had only the word
Liberal on their lips, and not in their hearts. (Cheers.)
They were all proud of Lord Alfred Paget, because he had
never swerved from those principles which he had always
professed, and had given many votes in favour of the mass
of the people—not one section, nor one clique, but the
whole entire mass. (Cheers.) They all knew his lordship,
and would join, he was sure, in drinking very heartily and
enthusiastically his health. (Cheers.)
Mr. R. C. CHAWNER replied on behalf of Lord Alfred,
and expressed his regret that his lordship was not present
among them that day. Lord Alfred had done much for
the constituency, and ho must have had many good qualities
to have represented the same place for 27 years. He (Lord
Paget) was not an orator, but he was a manly, straightfor
ward Englishman. He never came before the voters and
professed be would vote for any Liberal measure and not
carry out that promise. (Cheers.) They never had been
deceived by Lord Alfred Paget. (Loud cheers.) And he
hoped that hereafter they might have something like the
same qualifications in the men who affected to represent
them. (Applause.)
Mr. CROSSREY proposed " The Liberal Cause," coupling
with the toast the name of Major Anson. (Applause.) In
the course of his remarks he lamented that the ship Libe-
ral had struck upon a rock and been wrecked ; but ex-
pressed the hope that the Liberals of Lichfield would be
more united and persevering than ever.
Major the Hon. A. H. ANSON, M.P., said he had great
hesitation as to whether he should attend there that day
or not, as he understood at first it was a fete given by Lord
Alfred Paget to his own supporters in the city of Lichfield;
and at such a fete, had he been asked, he should, as a matter
of course, been glad to attend. But he heard that Lord Al-
fred was not going to be there himself, and he thought
that, under the circumstances, it was better he should stay
away. But the mayor sent round a circular, which did not
put it so much in that light as that it was to be a political
meeting. The circular said:—" On Wednesday next a fete
will be held in Swinfen Park, as a mark of respect to Lord
A. Paget, and with a view of consolidating and strengthen-
ing the Liberal party in the city." After receiving that he
thought, after what had taken place in the last session, it
charge that those who differed from the late Government,
would give some colour, if he stayed away, to the absurd
not so much on the question of Reform, as their manner
of dealing it, were' really nothing else but Tories.
So hee al
his mind to attend, and he was very glad
dmagde
up
he had, because he found that that opinion did not exist
amongst the Liberals of Lichfield, as they had coupled his
name with the toast of the Liberal cause. As a matter of
course he could hardly meet wih so many of the electors
without referring to what had taken place in the House of
Commons upon the question of refort. It had only been
within the last year that the very advanced opinion upon
the subject of reform they had heard from Mr. Cha wner
had been looked upon as a part—an absolutely necessary
part—of the Liberal creed. At the last election Lord
Palmerston was in you er, and there was no statesman
possessed the love and confidence of the people of this
country more thoroughly than he did, and the question
of reform was not made the cry of the hustings.
Shortly after Lord Palmerston died, and Mr. Gladstone
and Lord Russell came to be the leaders of the Liberal
party, they made up their minds to bring in a Reform
Bill, and that was a very proper determination to come
to, but they were in a very great hurry about it. (" Not
at all.") They had a new Parliament, consisting of
a majority of 70, to support Lord Palmerston. The Go-
vernment brought the bill forward when there were no less
than 70 seats contested. (" That's your old tale." Laughter.)
He objected to the manner in which they brought the bill
forward, the hurry in which it was introduced; secondly,
he disapproved of the bill itself, and he thought Mr. Chaw-
ner had given ample reason for its being a bad bill. It was
very complicated, and hardly had a good clause in it. (Oh,
oh, and laughter.) The next objection he had was to the
manner in which they pressed the bill upon the country,
and he thought they deserved great blame for that amongst
all moderate men ; and the manner they pressed it forward
was bearing its fruits in the present day. They misrepre-
sented things said in the heat of debate by members of
what were called the Adullamites, and, amongst others, by
Mr. Lowe. (Hear, hear, and laughter.) There never was
a grosser case or anything
more unfair than the manner in
which what he (Mr. Lowe) said about the working classes
was brought before the country by Mr. Gladstone and
Mr. Bright. (Applause.) Mr. Lowe made use of expres-
sions that were twisted into what they called slanders of
the working classes of this country. (Hear, hear.)
Lord Elcho was brought into the same boat, and he
knew both well and intimately, and there never were two
men less desirous of insulting the working classes. Mr.
classesds thaurse:
that Low
venality Lowe
h ewr aea enwd drunkenness.
pointingraumn knengtnsote ast
shf.
the
fact
w‘wlehari caohll
la
sncsoleassms
aea
classes.")
)c
greatouH could
e dealdeny,
u
chal-
lenged any one to deny it. What had been said by the
few
wwewr words
present guide, philosopher, and friend of the working
classes—Mr. John Stuart Mill ? Why, he summed them
Desuduol nboetlileieve;
übuptitnhaeTia"bTituhaelulpiparesr.ela(ss"
it"—loud laughter.) These words were not said in the
heat of debate, but in the calm quiet of the study. Not
only that : Mr. Mill taxed all the present constituencies,
not only in the small boroughs but in the large boroughs,
with being venal and drunken—two of the very words
used by Mr. Lowe in an argument against the ballot. He
could only say that those members who steadily voted
against the Government did so with the conscientious
belief that the bill was a bad one, and not because they
were renegades from the Liberal cause. They should not
in a hurry forget the manner in which they were treated
by the leaders of the Liberal party. They forgot that,
there were such people as moderate men, as well as
extreme men, and if they really were anxious to pass
a bill, it was their duty to have considered all sections
of the Liberal party as well as the most extreme party.
They (the Adullamites) should not forget the manner in
which they were misinterpreted when they were told they
were saying one thing and meant another. (Right.) Nor
should they forget the manner in which they were misre-
presented in what fell from the speakers of their party in
the heat of debate. Nor should they forget the gentle-
manly language of Mr. Bright, who said they were " a set
of dirty conspirators." (Quite true.) Above all, they should
not forget how the Liberal leader of the party treated a cer-
tain section when he said he knew, or the Government
knew, the men with whom they had to deal, treating them
and filling the political air with suspicions unworthy of a
man like him. But be was glad to see that that sort of
feeling on the part of the leaders was coming to an end. A
short time ago, in East Kent, they caught an Adullamito—
(loud laughter)—and they set to work to try him. But it
seemed the electors of Bent were not able to make up their
own minds on the case, and they got as a chairman Mr.
Snatchbull-Hugessen, and appealed to him. Mr. Hugessen
didn't know what to do with Sir E. Dering, and so he ap-
pealed to Mr. Gladstone and Earl Russell. Mr. Gladstone
recommended them to pardon him, and he wound up with
the following passage in his letter. He said—" We, the
supporters of the bill, who have had occasion to feel how
the spirit of suspicion poisons the atmosphere of politics,
and renders hopeless what otherwise, though difficult, was
practicable enough, should, I think, set an example of dis-
carding it, and of interpreting and treating others as we
wish to be treated and interpreted ourselves." He only
hoped the leaders of the Liberal party would walk in that
direction. (" I hope he will." Laughter.) He believed the
Adullamites were all good and true Liberals. ("No, no ;"
and applause.) At all events, he had always been a mode-
rate Liberal ; he was one when elected, and he had not
changed his opinionesinoe they elected him. (" You voted
against everything." Loud Laughter.) Mr. Chawner had
recommended that the cry should be howiehold suffrage ;
he had never concealed his opinion that he would infi-
nitely sooner see household suffrage than the franchise re-
duced to £6 or £7, and he was equally against rental and
rating. The way in which the late Government tried to
deal with the question was not a settlement of the ques-
tion ; it was a bad plan ; and the proof was, that at all the
meetings in London since there had been but one cry—
manhood suffrage. (Applause,) If manhood suffrage
and the ballot was what Liberalism meant, then be must
cease to be what was called a Liberal. (" You have."
Loud applause.) There was a large section of the
Liberal party that were moderate in what they wanted'
to see done in the constitution of the country. He had
to thank them for the manner in which they treated him,
and he honestly confessed they had received him more
kindly thatihe expected to be received at first. (" You
know what you deserved." Loud laughter.) " The worst
has to come." Roars of laughter.) Not because he thought
he had done wrong, but because their motives and their
conduct had been so grossly misrepresented by the ex-
treme press of the country. (" Three cheers for Glad-
stone ;" which were given with much spirit.) He had much
pleasure in proposing the health of Mr. R. C. Chawner, the
oldest friend of Lord Alfred Paget's in the city. (Loud
applause.) He had always hoard that Mr. Chawner had by

his energy done a great deal for the trade in that place, and
the prosperity of the. neighbourhood ; and he believed that
there was not a more popular person in the city. ile
begged to propose the health of that gentleman, as an old
friend to the city; and also as a friend to the Liberal cause.
(Cheers.)
Mr. CHAWNER having replied, and one or two other
toasts having been given, the proceedings terminated.
The rain at this time was pouring down very heavily,
and with some difficulty the tent was cleared of electors,
and about 600 ladies took possession of the place for tea.
This was served in the most liberal style, and evidently
gave an immense amount of satisfaction. Tea over, the
weather cleared up, and dancing was resorted to, the Yeo-
manry band playing.—Birmingham Daily Post.