The Sun.
London, England, 1835-11-11 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 1835.

Such had been the Gnvernments which had preceded, ane
such was the resistance which had been afforded even to

the smallest species 'er etep of reform, that it became neces-
sary to introduce some large and complete measure in order
to restore to the peOple that which, by the Constitution,
they had a perfect right to claim, viz.-3n adequate and
free representation.—(Cheers.) I shall always rejoice that
Lord Grey should have done me the honour in the first
place, when be wished a plan of reform to be drawn accord-
ing to his own enlightened views, that he should have fixed
upon me as one of those by whom that plan was to be pre-
pared ; and that, in the second place, when the plan,
having been matured, was to be proposed in Parliament,
he should depute to me the task of bringing it before
the House of COmmons.-.--(Cheers.) Upon a subject
so well known, I will not detain you longer ; there were
other questions which it was necessary for any Mi-
nister who looked to the permanent welfare of his coun-
try, to take into his comprehensive and deliberate considera-
tion. One of these was, that which affected the state of the
West Indies and the condition of 800,000 human beings,

who had been kept in a state of slavery, and whose condition
had induced this country to cry aloud for the abolition of
that degrading and frightful crime.. Lord Grey wishing,
in conjunction with his colleagues, to carry those views into
effect, decided that they could not introduce any measure
for the purpose unless those who might lose by the change,
and who had been taught to expect none would ever be made,
were adequately remunerated ; and I must say that I think
nothing ever redounded so much to the glory of the nation
as the readiness with which the people made that remunera-

tion.—(Cheers.) Other nations—ourselves among the
number—have incurred debts, and thrown away millions for
the sake of paying the price of sanguinary battles fought
in various scenes of the world ; other nations have given

large sums to raise sumptuous edifices and to adorn the
depositories of their country with the magnificent and
seducing works of art ; but it was reserved for this
country, I believe alone, among the nations of the
world, to devote the fruits of their industry, their soil,

and their honesty and well acquired wealth, to obtain
for 800,000 fellow-beings in another section of the globe,

•
an exemption from the 'frightful bonds of slavery.—(Loud
cheers.) There was another question upon which there
was no such excitement of popular opinion, but which, to
the minds of statesmen afforded a lasting ground of anxiety.
Among the many gross errors which had been committed
during the war, alterations had been admitted both in the.
legislation and in the administration with respect to the
poor laws, leading to such abuses tfiat the property of the
land-owner, the power ilf=the- fa:C nner to niploy useful _and
fficient labourers, and the character of the labourers them-

selves, were all exposed : the property to depression and
destruction ; and, what was far more valuable than all, the
character of the whole labouring ' population to a state

.
of degradation, idleness, and crime.—(Cheers.) There
were other questions which Lord _Grey's Government.
might have brought forward, which would have been far
more dazzling in the eyes of the public in general ; but to
men earnestly takinA into consideration the state of the
country, and anxious to arrest an evil which was, in all parts
of it, one of appalling and increasing magnitude, it became
a first duty to devise such a remedy as might in time be
sufficient to amend it ; and I have the happiness to say
that I hear monthly, and even more frequently from those,
who are placed at the head of the new Administration of
the Poor Laws, that neither the discontent nor the ob-
stacles which were at first excited, were so great as was
anticipated ; that the wholesome and ancient confidence
is gradually springing up between the employer and the
employed ; and that the labourer, in seeking his reward
for giving up idleness and dissipation, has the comfortable
reflection that he gains it by his own honest labour.—
, (Loud cheers.) With regard to the foreign policy of Lord
Grey's Government, at a time when the revolution in
France had just taken place, the separation of two countries
previously united by the strongest ties, the expedition of
Don Pedro into Portugal, and the case of our allies in the
East—all these subjects were so considered as to maintain
the character of the country, and preserve the peace of
the world.—(Cheers.) The question of the East India
Charter, in which a monopoly was destroyed ; the Bank
charter, involving the whole currency question ; and
other most important subjects, were also taken into consi-
deration. It will always be a source of regret that any-
thing should have taken place to lead to the termination
of Lord Grey's conduct of the Ministry, before the time
at which he himself bad decided upon retiring—the end of
the Session of 1834. I allude to the event which deprived
his Majesty's Councils of Lord Grey's assistance, merely
to notice a calumny as extraordinary as any that was ever
promulgated, but which will leave to all public men, when
they are calumniated too, the satisfaction of reflecting that
no degree of virtue—no degree of freedom from blame,
can save them from Calumny, when even Lord Grey was
exposed to it—(Hear, hear, and cheers)-1 allude to the
charge which was mad 4 against Lord Althorp of having
acted with a degree of baseness towards Earl Grey,
with the view of obtaining office for himself. Now, gentle-
men, no person who knows any thing of the character of
Lord Althorp, however remotely, can fail to know that he
was a man in no way capable of a base or underhanded ac-

_
tion, and that he was even a man whose fault it was, ii
public life, to be too averse to office, and too anxious to
escape from its responsibilities.---(Cheers.) In the third
place—if ever there were a man devoted to the fame and:
reputation of Earl Grey, that man was Lord Althorp.—,
(Loud cheers.) I know, however, how unnecessary it is,
for Lord Althorp's sake, that I should say even this much ;
I know how the simple grandeur of his character was
above it.—(Hear, and cheering.) I now coma to the ob-
servations you have made relating to the acts of Lord
Melbourne's Government, and I will at once mention the
question to which you have specially alluded—that of Mu-
nipal Corporations. It was our opinion that if we were to
have any freedom in our institutions, it was impossible to
allow self-elected Corporations any longer .to exist.—
(Cheers.) It seemed to us necessary that these bodies
should be subjected to vigilant popular controul ; and
I am satisfied, by the terms in which you have expressed
yourselves, how wisely and temperately you are deter-
mined to exercise the powers placed in your hands by
that Government. This is a great satisfaction to me.
I have introduced measures of a popular kind, in the
full confidence that the people might be trusted with
the powers I proposed to vest in them ; and I have after-
wards had the satisfaction, in many instances, of seeing
hoW fully my predictions have been verified.--(Cheers.) I
therefore think it would not only be superfluous, but rather
insulting in me, to attempt to give you any advice on
this subject,, seeing that if I coin 'nave wished to say
anything, I should. have 1-ecomritended that very course
of conduct which 10 your address you state your deter-
mination to I,ursue.—(Loud cheers.) I come now, Gen-
tlemen, to another subject, a more delicate and painful
one, one which requires to be considered with temper,
forbearance, and calmness, but the very mention of which
unfortunately seems sometimes to drive away temper,
forbearance, and calmness altogether—l mean the ques-
tion of the state of Ireland.—(Cheers.) We have a mat
duty to perform to Ireland ; it is a country which has
been long under our rule ; with regard to which we
have, in some respects, fulfilled our duties, but have in
others, I midst say, almost criminally neglected them.
—(Loud cheers.) Gentlemen, you all know—it has been,
unhapp;:,y, matter of frequent occurrence—that in Ireland
!her., prevail, among the peasantry, crimes which are not, as
in this country, the crime of individuals impelled by revenge,
love of gain, or other personal motives, but crimes of confe-
deracy and combination, not to mention any of those dread-
ful crimes which so frequently excite our horror—l will
give you a simple instance of my meaning with respect to
the state of the country, and which occurred, I, think,
somewhere about a year and a half ago. A man who had
taken some laud hired a labourer to.go out with hiM to till
it ; on coming to the spot they found already there the pre-
vious tenant who had been ejected for the non-payment., of
his rent. The man had a gun ready which he pointed at
the new tenant ; it missed fire—he cocked it again; and
aimed at the labourer, who knew nothing of the quarrel or
of the cause, and shot him dead. You r4ll naturally say,
" Here was a dreadful and unprovoked case of homicide,
and every one must have been anxious to arrest the mur•
derer." Quite the contrary, Gentlemen. The feeling of
all the people around was, that the murderer ought to be
protected ; the matter was not inquired into until some
hours afterwards, and when the police arrived on the spot
it was impossible to find any clue or evidence, the people all
saying that the man was rightly killed for coming on the
land under such circumstances. This is what I mean when
I say that the crimes in Ireland were crimes of confechracy
and combination. What remedy do •We propose? We pro=
pose, no doubt, with regard to the physical evils of Ireland,
such measures and such remedies as may amend them ; but
with regard to this moral evil—this perverted sense of right
and wrong—we do intend and propose to teach and diffuse
the great principles of religion in that country.—(Loud
cheers.) Well, then, gentlemen, I contend that this is
only acting upon the principles which I have seen taught by
the Reverend Bishops of our Church—that it is the duty
of the State to take care that religious and moral instruc-
tion be given to its peoPle. With regard to this great sub-
ject, until the accession of Lord Grey's Administration,
nothing had been done. The Established Church addressed
itself only to one-eighth or one-tenth of the people ; and
with regard to education, it had been made so exclusive a
system by the Roman Catholic Clergy, that they would not
allow the Roman Catholics to send their children to a Pro-
testant place of worship. What was the first step we took
to remedy the evil ? To introduce a new and general
system of education--.a system in which all classes of reli-
gion might partake. A certain number of days being de-
voted to teaching the Protestants and Roman Catholics
the great principles of morality and Christianity, whilst on
others they might learn the particular articles of their
own belief; according to the doctrines of each Church.-,
.

(Tremendous cheering.) Such was the system of educa-
tion proposed by Lord Stanley ; but in order to render
its benefits extensive and large, it required that greater
funds sziftql fol,prOtlide it. Whence were those
funds to be derived Trllcidq that enlarged view of what
was the intention of the establigittient, tttid what the, duty
of the State, which I have just expressed, I considered
that while a sulicient leMlNrP4'ioo was given to the
.`- se had flocks
ministers of the Protestant Church Where
to teach, where they had no flocks and no congregation
those funds might be fairly and properly applied to the
seneral education of the people.—(Loud cheers). What
objection can there be to this proposition? I think none,
unlesS you adopt the principle of Lord Stanley—a prin-
ciple to which I never could assent—(Deafening cheers)—
to which I never could assent, although I admired the
Manliness and firmness with which lie stated it in the Howe
of Commons--namely, that even where there was a single
Protestant, or even where there was no Protestant at all,
there ought to be a Protestant minister, and glebe-house,
and a payment of tithes.—(Loud cries of " No.") Lord
Stanley avowed this principle manfully ; he scorned to
shrink from the avowal of the consequences which would
necessarily result from it, and I will only say, that I think
of- itself it is a proposition to which you cannot reason-
ably give any support or acquiescence.—(Great cheering.)
Well then, Gentlemen, what are the objections to the
proposition I have made ? lam sorry to say, that instead
of reasoning upon this point—instead of considering the
religious and moral improvement of Ireland, and the civil
tranquillity prevailing among her people—the great ends
of Government—the adversaries of our proposition have
had recourse, in the first place, to personal attack, and, in
the second, to religious dissension. With regard to the
first, I think it would be as much waste of time to stop to
notice the daily means taken of abuse, which every public
man must encounter, as it would be for the traveller riding
through a village to stop and chase every cur that ran bark.'
ing at his heels ; but there are persons—there is one in
particular to whom I cannot forbear alluding, who is re-
ported to have made certain statements in a speech at Exe-
ter, which I own surprised me. He is a man of consider-
able talent, of great power of speaking, formed to rise and
take a conspicuous part in the public affairs of this country
—I mean the Learned Member for Exeter.—(Cheers.)
.His charges in amount are, that we have made a compact
,or agreement to give up the,Protestant Church in Ireland
to Mr. O'Connell without having thought. the question,
befbre ;' that wehave, if his words are correctly reported,
made.as- unprincipled a coalition as ever darkened or dis-
graced the history of this, country." • Now, it must .be ob-
terited—itN,iiorth 'observing,' for -if it bad' noe.been the
case, and then we should never have heard of this charge
—that it is made, not in Parliament, not before the assem-
bled Commons, where it might. have been answered, but
that it is made ex inatuli cautela, before a body from whom
there was no chance of meeting with any contradiction.
Now, I must say, that these gentlemen who make charges,
do a little vary and shift their ground without sufficiently
considering their former assertions.—(Cheers and laughter.)
In November last, when nothing could be more hostile
than the language of Mr. O'Connell towards Lord Mel-
bourne's Administration, we were then told, by their ac-
credited organs, and literary reviews, that I had prepared a
.plan for razing the Church and dismissing the ministers of
the Protestant Establishment in Ireland—and that that
plan had caused the dissolution of the Government about
six months afterwards. That charge having been answered
and contradicted, we find them propagating a fresh order,
to the effect that I have no opinion at all with respect to
any change in the Protestant Church, and solely adopt one
at the suggestion of others. Now one of those charges at
least must be false ; and it does unfortunately happen,
they being very different and dissimilar, that they are both
utterly false ; for, while in November, I had not pre-
pared the plan which I had proposed of the Cabinet agreed
to ; so on the other hand, this opinion of mine with respect
to the Protestant Church of "Ireland is no new opinion,
adopted at the suggestion of any one ; but as I will
shortly show you, adopted on my own reflection and con-
sideration, maintained at very great pain, and after no
inconsiderable experience.—(Cheers.) It so happens, in
the first 'place, that in"the "year 1824, I supported a mo-
tion of Mr. Hume's, the. purport of which was to de-
clare that the Protestant Church in Ireland ought to be
maintained with a smaller number of persons, and at a
less cost. That question slept for some time, until Lord
Grey's Administration had been formed. During the dis-
cussions on the tithe question in 1832, those who had re-
ferred to the former debates, and observed my previous votes
on the question, fairly enough asked me whether I still
maintained that opinion? it being well known that Lord
Stanley would be opposed to it. I then stated that I
thought the Church of Ireland bad not fulfilled the great
purposes. of religious and moral instruction, and that it was
necessary it should be reduced, not only because it was
not adequate for its own purposes, but likewise for the
sake of its own stability. At that time nothing could be
more 'hostile than Mr. O'Connell was to the Government.
In 1833. came • tho- question of the temporalities of the
Church of Ireland. I had already stated in the House of
Commons that my first impression on hearing that plan
*as, that as it did not contain what is now called an
appropriation .clause, it would become me to retire
from office -- a determination which I was only in-
duced to rescind by finding that on the main point
Lord Althorp and others entertained as strong an
opinion as myself ; but we all thought it would be in-
expedient at that time to dissolve Lord Grey's Go-
vernment. What I stated in the House of Commons in
the course of the present year cannot have escaped the
notice of the Learned Member for Exeter. In that same
year, 1833, I stated—l think in the discussion on the
147th clause—that in my opinion the State had a full
right to dispose of the revenues of the Church—(Loud
cheering)—and that I should be prepared to assert that
opinion when the proper time arrived.—(Cheers.) In the
year 1834, I—prematurely, as many persons thought, but
,certainly impelled by a strong feeling upon the subject,
When. the tithe question was under debate—stated that I
still entertained the opinion I held in 1832; that the Irish
Church ought to be reduced, and that some part of its
revenues should be applied to the general instruction of
the people. I added, that if I were obliged to maintain
that opinion by separating from my dearest friends, with
whom I was associated in office, I would not hesitate to
make that sacrifice, and to do what I conceived was jus-
tice to Ireland.—(Enthusiastic cheering, prolonged for.
several minutes, accompanied by waving of handker-
chiefs.) Gentlemen, that declaration of mine may have
baen premature—it may have been injudicious ; but with
that opinion on record, creating, as it (lid, a consider-
able sensation, both in the House of Commons and in
the country, I do wonder that any Learned Gentle-
man of known talent and ability should rise before an
audience in whose ignorance he must have had a most
contemptuous confidence, and tell them that I had
adopted this opinion in 1833, in order to conciliate and
meet the views of Mr. O'Connell.—(Prolonged cheering.)
At that time, and for some time afterwards, Mr. O'Connell,
whom I did not blame for its—far be it from me to blame
any Irishman for distrusting any Ministry—expressed dis-
trust in Lord Melbourne's Administration. He expressed
that distrust again in October, and it has been more than
once stated by Sir 'Robert Peel in the House of Commons,
and in his speech at Tamworth, to be the ground on which
he rested his hopes of the continuance of his Administra-
tion.—(Loud cheers.) I know not, Gentlemen, where is
the harm, or why we are to blame, if, in the assertion of
these principles we meet with the support of Mr. O'Con-
nell: But putting the No Popery cry out of the question,
lotus suppose that the same question arose in Scotland in
the' Revolution of 1080, and that instead of the atrocities
and horrors which were then committed, this plain and
simple offer had been made, ‘.‘ We will his
pen with
your Episcopal Church, but let there be a certain number
of sellooh; 'to which one sixth of the Church revenue shall
be applied, and in which the English Church Catechism
shall not be taught"—would not any man have supposed
that that was a roast moderate and temperate proposition?
And When I mention further, that in producing a similar
proposition with respect to Ireland, I claim the support
of those who cannot be considered and are not friendly
to the Church Establishment.—(Cheers ) But if you will
permit me on this occasion, as our conduct with respect to
Mr. O'Connell has been very severely handled, I will just
sittantoettboeyeonufowrlitabte uatSatchkes c‘‘oinlideu.hct of another Ministry with
, regard to that individual. I should not have done this had
heen made upon ;
because I agree with what is stated in your ado. ‘2"'' and al"
disposed to give every honour to the great Military Calm.._
for carrying through-Parliament the great measure of Cas
tholic Emancipation, It was proof of a great mind in the
Noble Duke. to take the course he did with respect to the
Measure ; but when we are told that we are ceding entirely
to the views or threats of Mr. O'Connell, you mast allow
me to read you a passage from the history of 1329. On the
28th of April in that year, the Duke of Wellington stated
in the House of Lords that there was no person in that
House whose sentiments and opinions, after long considera-
tion, were more decided than his were with respect to the
.Roman Catholie claims, and he must say, that until he saw
tasttChpia: ojecennl
encoes
cl enbn
a change in that question, lie was determined to oppose it.
Now, a debate took place some weeks afterwards upon
quoted,
ort.the
oed
~RcloompnrnaeensiurmCs Catholic ti.hncoolrilrycei which Lord
Gentleman
ich that
to the Catholics of Ireland that they had ob-
shletaeo:uncdfirled to unqualified"s,.ha tthaantd concessionunconditional
~as tcoonbcee
attributed?ssio
;antl
—whether to the tone of moderation which had been
adopted, or to the threats which had been held out, and the
strong language which had been used ? He was disposed
to think the latter. If that were the case, to whom were
those threats, 'and to whom was that strong language held
but? :Not -to a Whig Government7-rnot to Lord 2.141e1-

itu...

bourne or his colleagues—but to the Duke of Wellington,
and the opponents of Catholic Emancipation. What was
the course of the Government of this country with respect
to Catholic Emancipation ? Pitt, Grattan, Plunkett, Fox,
Canning, and other great men opposed the claims of the
Catholics ; reason and argument failed alike in affording
any conviction of the necessity of the measure. To what
was it yielded at last ? To force. In the speeches of the
Duke of Wellington, he expressly stated—and I readily
'—'*. much to his honour—that he yielded, because he was
r a civil war. Gentlemen, I rejoice at
unwilling to enciaa;:_ but I cannot but concur in
that question having been cern, • with that great
the opinion expressed by Lord Grey, tn.-
thrc-its
benefit there :MA an unhappy lesson taught, that '
and strong language were the Mean to get other favour-
able concessions for Ireland. We. unfortunately inherited
the . difficulties which the lesson of the Dake of Wellirge
ton had created. Mr. O'Connell's party naturally com-
menced a new syste.o of agitation, denounced tithes, and
advocated the Repeal of the Union. Lord Althorp stated
in the House of Commons, that sooner than yield to the
dismemberment of the empire, he would encounter any
risk, even that of civil war. We introduced and endured
with great pain a measure, I will fearlessly say, most re-
pugnant to the spirit of our Constitution ; but having done
so, and having succeeded in that proposition, and having
afterwards upon no ground of force, but-on grounds of pure
justice, determined that we would take that part with re-
spect to tithes in Ireland which the complaints of the people
required, 'I think I am entitled to say that the Duke of
Wellington, and Sir Robert Peel at the head of the Go-
vernment, opposed reason, defied and resisted argument,
and yielded- and succumbed to force ; while we, on the
other hand, have opposed ourselves most successfully and
decidedly to force, and yielded and succumbed to reason.
—(Tremendous cheering.) With regard to' religious dis-
sensions, let them not be introduced into our political dis-
cussions ; questions of conscience are too holy and too
sacred to be dragged into the arena of politics ; they do but
pervert politics from their true meaning; they do but de-
grade religion from its true intent.—(Cheers.) There was
a time when persecution, and bloodshed, and cruelty,
were but too frequently mixed up with sacred and reli-
gious subjects ; but, gentlemen, those contests and battles
are over, and the temper which ought to be introduced
into them now, is one of stedfast but humble confidence
in our own belief, and respect for the conscientious belief
others.—(rheers.) After some furthyr observations on this
point,,. the Noble Lord proceeded to say : I am satisfied
the Established • Church in this country never will be so
iecutia as When'. the claims of -the' frotestant Dissenters
have been conceded.—(Cheers.) • It was my fortune-to be
entrusted with a proposal to Parliament for the abolition
of those disgraceful Statutes the Test and Corporation
Acts.—(Loud cheers.) Happy shall I be if in the next
Session of Parliament I may be the means of remedying
any of the yet remaining grievances by which the Dissen-
ters of England may think themselves oppressed.—( Loud
Cheers.) You have in your address quoted my declaration
that I stand " pledged to the Conititution of the country in
all its branches, by feeling, by opinion, and by duty." I made
that declaration from the belief which I steadfastly enter-
tain, that the Constitution has within itself power sufficient
for the ultimate remedy of any disorders with which it may
be affected.. I will not now enter—there is no need
of my now entering, into the grounds which have actua-
ted my conduct. It has, I know, been stated that it was
a . matter of censure that • I would not allow discussion
to go on—that I would not allow public opinion to form it-
self gradually and reverse my own opinion, until public dis-
cussion had been fully concluded. I will not discuss now
the question of prudence or imprudence ; but this I must
say, that if I 'tan be of any use to this country—if I
can be of any use to the great and popular party among which
I hold the station I certainly do not desire, it must be by the
unequivocal expression of my opinion.—(Cheers.) It is'
for the people to judge soberly and deliberately whether '
my opinions are valuable or worthless. If they honour
me s'ith their approbation I can still be of use—l can
still be of some service to my country. If those opinions
should be discovered to be worthless, it will be a satis-
faction to me to reflect that- I shall not have passed through
public life without being of some little utility, and that in
the -measures of the repeal of the Corporation and Test
Acts; the Bill for the Reform of the Representation, and
the Act for the Reform and Amendment of our Municipal
Corporations, I shall have left some traces of having lived
to serve, and of having been enabled to serve the cause of
civil and religious liberty ; and I can say with some degree
of exultation,
" Not fate itself can on the past have power,
But what is done is done, and I have had my hour."
So much, gentlemen, with reference to myself. With re-
gard to you, I am persuaded that if you go on in the spirit
in which this address is conceived, neither abandoning nor
conceding any great principle of reform, but at the same
time promoting and forwarding it temperately and cau-
tiously, you will have a right to say that while the great na-
tional and commercial prosperity of this country may hold
on its way unbroken, the institutions of -the country may be
carefully and wisely improved, carrying with them all that
spirit of liberty stamped upon them by our forefathers,
combined with all that the increased knowledge, civilization,
improvement, and experience of their descendants could
confer.—(Loud and prolonged cheering, amidst which the
Noble Lord resumed his scat.)
Several deputations were then admitted into the room,
and presented addresses to his Lordship, congratulating
him on the services he had rendered to the country, and
particularly to the cause of civil and religious liberty.
The CHAIRMAN, in giving " The People—the true source
of legitimate power," said—l have now the honour to
pledge you to a toast from which no intelligent and true-
hearted Englishman—e. no one who understands the principles
of good government and of the British Constitution, will
ever shrink—a sentiment which, if lam not much mis-
taken, is in this our own day better understood, more ge-
nerally recognized, and More faithfully acted on, than in
any former period of British history. While it traces all
legitimate authority to its ,true origin—the people—it at
the same time reminds us, by plain and necessary implica-
tion, of the ditty of subjection to authority, so derived.
The truth it expresses was firmly and successfully assented
to by the patriotic Statesmen of 1688. It has been the
watchword of their liberal and noble-minded successors,
out. of office, and as the Ministers of the Crown they still,
by actions which :speak louder than words, appeal to it as
their motto.
The toast was received with loud cheers.
The next toast was, " The health of the Bishop of the
diocese."
" The Ministers of all religious denominations" followed,
which was acknowledged by Dr. Carpenter.
The CHAIRMAN then rose and said,—the toast which
stands next on the list needs only to be announced to call
forth a warmth of feeling more expressive and convincing,
than can be conveyed in mere- words. We should be pre-
pared, however, not only to avow but to explain anti vindi-
cate our political preferences and attachments. if, then,
we are asked why we rank ourselves among the supporters
of the present Government, we answer, because the states-
men who compose it have always professed and advocated
principles in harmony with the British Constitution, and
friendly alike to the honour and stability of the Throne,
and the liberty and happiness of the people—principles
which, if universally acted on, would make civil government
what it is intended to be—a grand instrument for promot-
ing the improvement, and securing the peace and happiness
of mankind. These principles they bravely asserted when
all that is hostile to them prevailed—when votes, and places,
influence, rank, and power, were bought and sold—when the
public weal was a secondary consideration, and was made
subservient in a thousand instances and in every direction to
unprincipled selfishness, or at best to a misdirected ambi- '
tion. For these reasons ire have heretofore chesea rather
to share the fortunes of a depressed and discounte-
nanced, but, as we firmly believe, an enlightened and
patriotic party, than to court the smiles and strengthen
the hands of their adversaries. For the same rea-
sons we attach ourselves firmly and ardently to those men
who now, as the Ministers of the Crown, and the
guides of our Legislatare,. are honourably, steadily, and
successfully carrying their professions into effect, and exhi-
biting to a delighted nation the fruits of their principles in
a series of measures more pure, more just, more extensively
beneficial, more calculated to annihilate what is wrong, to
confirm and establish what is right, than any course of legis-
lation which any country in any period of' its history ever
roduced. Time allows only a bare mention of the more
prominent of these acts cf wisdom and beneficence—Par-
liamentary Reform ; abolition of West. India slavery ; the
•-cr of the East India and China trades, accompanied
• .:on for the present mitigation and the speedy
by a Ply-I,h,- xlll cry in the East ; the entire remodelling of
abolition 4laws, upon prineipirs which will be found
oar system of
lculable benefit to the resources
to combine an almost . •
',web more important, the im-
of the country, with what is .
provement in their moral and ph-y‘'/Il •
co*ndition of the poor
Reform Act. Now
themselves ; and, lastly, the Municipal .
for the coon-
these five great measures have been effecter..:aks, and
try and for mankind in the midst of difficulties, r • " • 4.1,,
hostility which nothing but the soundest discretion,
most indomitable courage and perseverance, sustained and
invigorated by conscious moral rectitude, could pozeibly have
overcome. Anti these greater measures have been accom-
panied all along by a succession of enactments, less striking
indeed, but. breathing the same spirit of wisdom and bene-
ficence, and by which the burdens of the country have been
lightened, and its penal code improved—justice in our civil
courts of law and of equity facilitated and cheapened, and
encouragement afforded to general education. These, we
say, arc the natural fruits of our own principles brought into ,
action by men carble of appreciating and supporting
them. When we consider that the changes thus introduced •
arc but in theirinfancy, that we have not, vet emerged from
the conflict, that the struggle and the tumult, of contending-

•
~,- :

princip!es, of two systems of governmtatti4iL,ttetailisali
site, yet continues, that other measures-of i sitniftecirai26o3% 't
are still pending, with the certain prosivit.lbf-inVeteiilt6 and 'c'
determined resistance—in such circuiqs(inces,-I say, it is
matter of some surprise, and of great sat' tiction and iltPtik---4'
fulness, to observe, ns we already do, the most unequiVool-'
proofs of the good results of a system so admirable in thcOry:
but so new and experimental in practice. We see disconterit
and agitation subsiding, confidence restored, trade and ma-
nufactures thurishing, labour abuidant. capital freely in-
Nysted in magnificent schemes of improvement, and all the na-
tional energies,mental and physical, beginning to be dedicated
to beneficial purposes. This is our condition at home. Abroad,
every day augments the moral influence of England—we are
:Lilly more and more under Providence the hope, the stay, and
the dete,,:e :.‘f the rights and liberties of mankind. I speak
soberly when r saj ti.e. unless we betrai ourselves, so ani-
matingoo glorious a prospect as that which opens to our view,
never yet presented itself to a nation. it is resplendent,
not with the wreck of war, or the glitter or ill-gotten na-
tional wealth, but with the benignant rays of :rah, justice,
and liberty. Such is the position to which w.,. have bren
already advanced under the conduct of Lord Melbourne...
and his excellent colleagues. Shall we be unmindful of
their services? Shall we desert our leaders? No ! They •
have made our interests theirs—theirs shall be onri7. We
tender them our deliberate confidence, our fervent appro-
bation, our heartfelt gratitude. Only one word more. W.-.
owe them a return for their noble services, their generous
confidence. We must be true to them and to ourselves.
Benefits conferred, trusts reposed, create corresponding, du-
ties and rssponsibilities. How shall we discharge them ?
how, but by imitating the example set us—by cultivating
the virtues we admire—by showing that we also in our
narrower sphere are faithful to our professions, more mind-
ful as citizens of the public good than of oar private and
selfish interests, superior -o petty resentments and intem-
perate triumphs, ' ust, upright, and benevolent in ail our
actions. So shall we silence column subdue animosity,
and honour our good cau:e.—(Great, elverimr.)
The health of Lord Melbourne and his Majesty's' Minis-
ters was then given, and received amidst .diou::s of applause.
[Want of room to-day oblig.es us to defer the Oosa of the
proseedia;.z.s till t .-morrow.]