The Sun.
London, England, 1866-07-23 00:00:00

THE COBDEN CLUB.

MEETING OF LIBERALS AT RICHMOND.
In the early part of the present year a suggestion
was made by a member of the House of Commons,
who is a disciple of the late Richard Cobden, that a
club should be formed of men attached to the school
which the great Free Trader founded. The pro-
position was at once acted upon, and one of its
earliest supporters was Air. Thomas B. Potter, M.P.
for Rochdale, to whose exertions the present success
is chiefly due. It was originally intended that the
club should be formed only of the most advanced
Liberals, but its basis has been since extended, so
that it now includes not only those immediately
following in the footsteps of Mr. Cobden, but also
those Liberals who may be called the active sup-
porters of the great Liberal leaders. It is true that
the list of members contains the names of one or two
who may be looked upon as rather lukewarm sup-
porters of the party ; but as Mr. Gladstone has be-
come an honorary member, the club may be said to
consist of the followers of the Liberal leaders and
those of the Cobden and Manchester school. Within
a week of the announcement that the club would be
formed, nearly 100 gentlemen, most of them mem-
bers of the House of Commons, have given in their
names. The first meeting of the members was held
at the Reform Club on the 15th of May, at which
it was arranged that an inaugural dinner should be
held, and that Mr. Gladstone should be asked to
preside. The late Chancellor of the Exchequer
promptly stated that he should have great pleasure
in doing so, and the dinner was accordingly held on
Saturday. Mr. Bright was specially invited to be
present, but the hon. member for Birmingham re-
plied to the effect that, however anxious he might
be to render the highest possible honour to the
memory of the illustrious deceased, his feelings
would ndt permit him to take part in a festival of
this sort. At the same time, the club had his
heartiest sympathy and support. The club now
consists of 141 ordinary members, of whom 85 are
members of the Legislature.

The following is the prospectus issued by the pro-
moters of the club, together with a list of the com-
mittee and members :

" COBDEN CLUB.—REPORT 19TH JULY, 1866.—The idea
of forming a club, to be called the Cobden Club,' on a plan
somewhat similar to that of the Fox Club, occurred to one
or two gentlemen in the month of March last, and in the
course of a few weeks nearly 100 gentlemen, most of them
members of the House of Commons, had intimated their
wish to join it. On the 15th of May the first meeting was
held at the Reform Club, at which it was resolved that the
annual subscription should be £3 35., and that a dinner
should take place in June or July, at which the future ar-
rangements of tho club should be considered, and that Mr.
Gladstone should be invited to preside. The club now con-
sists of 148 ordinary members, of whom 85 are members of
the Legislature. A considerable number of the subscrip-
tions for the current year (which will in future be payable
at the London and Westminster Bank, St. James's-square,
on Ist January in each year) have been paid, and there is
now a balance of about £3OO in hand. In accordance with
the resolution passed at the meeting on May 15, it now re-
mains to determine the future arrangements of the club,
and it is proposed that its management, together with the
election of members, shall be entrusted to a committee con-
sisting of the following gentlemen, three of whom shall
form a quorum : —Lord Houghton, Viscount Amberley,
M.P., Mr. A. Otway,
Air, T. B. Potter, M.P., Mr. J.
Caird, Mr. J. Bright, 31. P.,
Mr. J. S. Mill, M.P., Mr. Stans-
feld, M.P., Mr. T. Bazley, M.P., Mr. R. Baxter, Mr. W. E.
Baxter, M.P., Mr. W. E. Forster, M.P., Mr. Trevelyan,
M.P., and Mr. G. Shaw Lefevre, M.P."
Shortly before the dinner a formal meeting was
held at the Star and Garter,
Richmond, where the
above report was adopted.
The list of members includes a majority of the
Liberal party in the House of Commons.
The dinner took place on Saturday at the Star
and Garter, when
the Right lion. Mr. Gladstone,
M.P., took the chair. After the usual loyal toasts,
The CHAIRMAN again rose and said—My Lords
and Gentlemen, I have now to propose to you the
toast which constitutes the main object of our meet-
ing on this occasion—it is the memory of Mr.
Cobden. (Cheers.) I think it will be thdgeneral—l
would venture to say the unanimous—sentiment of
your countrymen that you have done well to found
an institution in connection with his name—not, in-
deed, that that name stands in need of any measures
such as even a company like this can take in order
to secure its immortality, but that it is good and
desirable that, even shortly after the grave has
closed upon the remains of a man so distinguished,
visible and undeniable signs should be given that
his countrymen are sensible of the merits of
him whose services they have enjoyed, and the loss
they have sustained by his death. (Cheers.) He
was one of these of whom I think we may say that
even the splendour of their talents was less remark-
able than the solid distinction derived from their
viaues ; and with regard to whom, if admiration is
strong, yet esteem, veneration, and affection in the
retrospect must bo stronger still. (Cheers.) It
was a character, so far as I had ever the oppor-
tunity of
sense--(hear, judginge_
simple, noble in the
highest
ear hear)—for Mr. Cobden was
one of those who have been well called, and in no
invidious or disparaging sense, " Nature's nobles."
h free,
(Cheers.) Ido not know whether it has fallen to
the lot of any one—it fell to mine—to meet a man
more devoted to the welfare of others, and more
thoroughly and entirely purged from that taint of
selfishness which mars so much even of what is par-
tially and intentionally good, or who applied his life
and all his powers with more single and undeviat-
ing aim to the promotion of the good of his race.
(Cheers.) We are not here to present Mr. Cobden
aslv einafraellinbolet
here
ine
to veryjudgment he may have formed.
claim of those who have joined
in this festivity, or who may join the club that is to
bear his name, that in every opinion of Mr. Cob-
den's they should coincide. He did not embrace
opinions for the sake of party, but he adhered to
party for the sake of the objects that he sought.
(Cheers.) He was one of those who, if his political
career had then commenced, would most cordially
have joined in the proclamation of which my noble
friend on my right (Earl Russell) was one of the
original utterers, in those days when many a battle
now won had yet to be fought, and when the

_ .
steep ascent that has now in great part been
climbed had yet to be attempted I mean the

proclamation of those three great principles of
peace, retrenchment, and reform. (Loud cheers.)