The Sun.
London, England, 1857-01-26 00:00:00

MIALL AND HIS CONSTITUENTS.

On Friday evening Mr. Miall, M.P., met his consti.
tueuts at Rochdele according to annual custom. The •
Mayor (Mr. Jacob Bright) occupied tlse chair, and in his
opening address criticised the foreign policy of the Bri-
fief' Government. He then introduced Mr. Miall to the
meeting.
Mr. MIALL rose and said—Mrs Mayor and gentlemen,
I can aware you, without the slightest affectation, that
I rejoice I have another opportunity of meeting you in
this ball, f. r the purpose of rendering to you an account
of my stewardship. You will remember, and lam not
disposed to forget, that previously to my election as the
representative of Rochdale I pledged myself to meet the
electors and non-electors of the borough year after year,
and whenever it should appear that my conduct was con-
demned by a majority—a fair majority—l should leave
that post in order that some better man might occupy
it. (Applause.) I come, consequently, in conformity
' with that pledge. When more than four years ago you
put the question as to whether I would represent you I
accepted. Yours was the choice, mine was the accep-
tance of your choice ; and I can assure you that.
your choice was not more hearty than was my accep-
tance of that choice. I may allude to my want of some
•f those qualifications which when they can be possessed
in company with others are not to be despised. Wealth
is pleasant; rank is not to be condemned ; both give con-
siderable influence in the House of Commons; I can
pretend to neither. I wish to put before you everything
which I think will interest you in regard to my past
conduct, as also in regard to my future intentions. If
you take any interest in the proceedings of your represen-
tative, consult the division list upon the great questions
for which yon care a straw, and if I have been absent
—ceernaie ta—acoiefalit ; but on any question of importance
I have been present and voted, except when I have thought
the question not ready for legislative discussion. Igo
further. I think that a man standing before his consti-
tuency should confess when he has done wrong. I have
to snake my confessions. I have committed some mis-
takes. In relation to the savings-bank question I will
confess that I was guilty of an oversight that, perhaps,
caused use greater chagrin than to any member of this
metstuency ; I believe it was the Tralee Savings-bank,
which was brought forward by Mr. Daniel O'Connell on
a certain evening in the House of Commons. I was not
present when that discussion came on. It came to a
division, and my name is not recorded therein. It hap-
pened that the question was brought forward on the
same night which I brought forward a question which
I think you will call one of importance—namely, the
disendowment of all religious bodies in Ireland. (Hisses
and applause.) You are premature in expressing your
condemnation,- because I will go into that point pre-
sently ; but it so happened that it depended on my own
energy and influence to obtain a night. I had been dis-
appointed, for I bad obtained on a former evening the
fixing of a discussion on the subject ; but then came the
great naval review, and they took the liberty of voting
that the House should not sit on that night. On the
second night which I had obtained there was to be a
Turkish Ambassador's ball, at which the Queen was to
be present, and the members of the House were anxious
to bask in the beams of sovereignty, and it was supposed
that no private member could obtain a night. I had ob-
tained promises which induced me to think I should be
successful. The question did come on for discussion ;it
went on till after 12, and after midnight a minority of
votes which surprised me was the result. You may
suppose I was so absorbed by the immediate business be-
fore me that I overlooked the fact that the very next
question standing on the paper was the question about
savings-banks in Ireland. I had had a previous conver-
sation with Mr. O'Connell on the subject, and I under-
stood that be did not expect that he could do more than
make a statement, to which the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer would probably reply. I was one of the tellers
in my own case. I reported the votes and retired into
the lobby. I don't think yea lost anything by that, for I
don't think it would be good policy for you to identify
your case with that of the Irish savings-banks, thsy
having had a Parliamentary inquiry into their case,
and you have had none. You stand, therefore, in a
better position, and, under all tee circumstances, I
thought I might frarkly throw myself on the good
nature of the people of Rochdale to extend to me that
pardon which I need. One other thing I wish to con-
fess. It is with reference to a question in which you
are deeply interested. It is the question of national re-
prese
intendedut at itoon.
bring Y o ain ar e
billa aware
at hmaetnSid rt
hJeo srheupar
representation
of the people. With difficulty he had got a night fixed,
and we all anticipated that there would be a serious dis-
cussion. It might not have been the best period for
bringing a matter of that kind forward ; but, however
that was, I intended to be present, and, if necessary,
take part in the di-cussion. I was not aware that Sir
Joshua Walmsley thought he could not make a house,
because everTrawabe4 who stands first on the list has to
exert himseit to get members there befeire four o'clock,
in order that there may not be a count-out. I conse-
quently did not arrive till three minutes after four
o'clock, when I found that the house was dismissed.
I can only say that this was an accident.
Now, gentlemen, let me give you as briefly a sketch of
the session. It is a difficult matter as a painter would
say, to paint a blank space, and all I can do is to set
before you a beggarly account of empty boxes. We met
when negotiations for peace were being carried on, and
we were called upon to exhibit our patriotism by abstain-
ing from all discussion on the matter, and- I must say
the perfect silence on the subject which was preserved
in Parliament during the time that arrangements were
being carried forward indicated no little amount of patri-
otism in the members who were there, every party being
careful not to endanger the peace which then seemed
probable. You know that the result was the establish-
ment of a peace comprehending those points which the
Western Powers had ostensibly contended for during
the war. No sooner was peace signed, and almost
before the rejoicings were over, than we got into
difficulties with America. I will not now discuss

that matter, but I will justify my conduct therein
by saying that • the main difficulty was attri-
butable to the proceedings of our own Consuls
and Minister there with a view to obtain enlist-
ments for the army. Against that Foreign Enlistment
Bill I had on a previous occasion voted, because it was
impossible to put it into fair operation without endan-
oering our relations with other countries. As to otber
matters, the greater part of the session went by while
e were doing nothing. There were from 30 to 40
public measures passed during the session of Parliament,
but I think I could easily name all those which were of
any worth. There was the Limited Liability Bill. I
gave my vote in favour of that bill with the greatest
delight, and only regret that it was not accompanied by
another for amending the law of partnership, so as to
admit of private persons putting their capital into Coma•
inercial speculations without exposing themselves to
ruinous consequences. The Cambridge University Bill
passed under review, and, besides these, the County
Courts Amendment Bill and the Police Bill
were the only other bills which could be said to be of
great public importance which were passed during the
session. Several good bills were either withdrawn or re-
jected. In one of these you take great interest—l mean
that for doing away with the local dues on shipping. I
believe that the merchandise which comes into Rochdale
and other towns pay a tax for beautifying the town of
Liverpool, and also helps to pay the borough rates of
that town, as well as their paving, sewerage, great pub-
lic hall, and other expenses necessary to the comfort and
convenience of a great shipping town like Liverpool.
These things I consider ought to be paid by the inhabi-
tants, instead of which they are paid by those who have
merchandise passing through that port, and you are pay-
ing part of this as well as your own rates for the improve-
ment of your own town. Ministers brought in a bill to do
away with all this,when up rose all the corporations which
had property in vested rights, afraid that touching these
old customs would lead to trenching on their vested in-
terests, and many town clerks went to London to try to
induce Government to abstain from interference. Lord
Palmerston did not appear deeply interested in the mat-
ter, though Mr. Lowe was, and he, instead of support-
ing his own Minister, sent the bill to a committee of
inquiry, before whom one of your townsmen, Mr.
Alexander Livesey, gave valuable evidence ; the result
was, that the measure was shelved, but, nevertheless,
I expect it is one of those measures which we shall have
to pass next session. There was also a bill for allowing
Jews to sit in Parliament when elected thereto. That
bill was under the conduct of Mr. Milner Gibson, arid,
though it passed through the Commons, it was rejected
by the House of Lords. There were others to which I
need not refer, but there is one class of bills particularly
important to you—l allude to those which are based
upon practical centralisation. With reference to my own
motion, in which I followed in the steps of my predeces-
sor, Mr. Sharman Crawford, I may say that he was the
first who had the courage to say that all religious bodies
in Ireland should be left to sustain their own institutions;
that all public provision for them should be withdrawn,
and that all inequalities should cease. I believe that
it is pretty well known to you all, that if I have any
particular prejudices, they run in the ecclesiastical
line, and I have laboured to advance this principle—that
it is no business of the State to afford to anybody pro-
tection in the exercise of his religion, and at the same
time to meddle with none. Let all churches be self
supporting and self-goierning. Of all places in the world
Ireland was most in need of the application of that prin-
ciple. Mr. Spooner brought in from time to time a mo
tion for taking away from Maynooth College its 30,0001.
their
hka i/sr t odnbeuctdl hayeint
Nigroundoonwlreland.thato u
gentlemen,l
d When
it is
hs ieusn dt
tnlmoeelaaddski
by
g to Almighty
God that a religion which is not true in itself according
aetwOif
weakest
Protestants.
first
t thee property
com-
mencement of nay career that I would notyetsuhtinheagetfile out the
cation of what I cqsesin.deer af wholesomec principle, I find
case ; so in this, all parties wheomenmj
that so it is in the ve
fightevery
with one another u nonysthaeesiptoiiel winille
giving up the spoil, and ems:eery other question but that of
whether it be of one body ormmoment that spoil is touched,
and fight for the retention of wli'natotther, they all coalesce
hey havegot. I voted
with Mr. Spooner, and, hating done so, I felt it incum-
bent upon me as a matter of
fairness
to th
Catho-
lics of that country that they should be placed in •
precisely
the same position as to the endowments which
to their Protestant countrymen, and should were given
be treated
precisely on the same grounds, and L therefore proceeded