The Sun.
London, England, 1861-01-05 00:00:00

RORSMAN, M.P., AND HIS CON-

BTITUENTS.

STROUD, FRIDAY.

The Right Hon. E. Horsman fast night attended
a second meeting of the electors and non-electors of
Stroud in the Subscription Rooms of that town.
The attendance was much more numerous than on
Wednesday afternoon, and a large body of the
working classes were present. The proceedings,
though not of a turbulent, were of a very exciting
character. The right hon. gentleman on entering
the hall was greeted with mingled cheers and
hisses. Mr. S. Marling was called to the chair.
The CHAIRMAN, in a brief speech, introduced the
right hon. gentleman, and requested a fair and im-
partial hearing for all who might be anxious to
address the meeting.

Mr. HORSMAN (wha on risiig was again received
with symptoms of disapprobation from his consti-
tuents) said,—I present myself to-night not to make
any lengthened or detailed statement such as I made
yesterday, but rather to listen to any statements
which you may wish -to make, and give any ex-
plenations or answers that you may require. From
what occurred yesterday .I gather from the resolu-
tion that was passed that there were two main
questions on which I was condemned. The reso-
lution was moved and seconded by two deservedly-
respected members of the Society of Friends, who
in their speeches condemned me mainly on two
grounds. The first was that by my speeches on
'questions of foreign policy I had taken a course
-very strongly at variance with the principles and
'objects of that society; and, secondly, that I had
been much too unministerial in votes and speeches.
(Laughter and interruption.) As to the first of these
charges, I must remind you that I never professed
anything but opposition to the policy of those prin-
ciples which the Peace Society profess. On the very
first occasion on which I stood here, when the
question was to be decided whether I was to be
your candidate and representative, Mr. Fewster
made a speech in which he said his only objection
to me was that my views and principles were so much
at variance with his own on the subject of peace.
(Question) I have a great personal respect for the
members' of the Society of Friends. (Laughter
and derisive cheering.) I know that their prin-
ciples are pure, that their motives are Christian
and praiseworthy—(hear, hear)—but, as politicians,
I honestly avow that I think them the most perni-
cious and most mischievous of all denominations.
(Uproar and interruption.) If their power were
at all equal to their will, the existence of England
as an independent kingdom would not be worth
six months' purchase, (A perfect storm of groans,
hisses, and hooting.) There is this particular cha-
racteristic about them which shows how the most
amiable and best of men, when they push a prin-
ciple too far, may be led into inconsistency ; that
while the Emperor of the French is confessedly the
representative of war in Europe,—for has he not
been the cause of more bloodshed and more carnage
than any other man, and is he not now promoting
bloodshed and carnage before the walls of Gaeta ?
(Continued interruption.) He finds in this coun-
try his friends and advocates in the representatives
of the peace party. (Cries of " No, no," and
Question.") There have been in our time two
wers in Europe, one in the Crimea the other in
Italy. Whole hecatombs of human lives have been
sacrificed, and the Emperor of the French, next to
his uncle—whom we defeated nearly half a century
ago—has been the greatest scourge of the human
race in modern days. Yet, while he has not another
friend in all Europe ; while the armies of Englund
are at this moment kept up to the highest state of
efficiency from the fear of him ; while he threatens
every Power, while he embarrasses every exchequer,
while he disturbs commerce all over the world, we
find that it is in England alone he has advocates,
upholders, apologists, eulogists, and, strange to
say, this representative of war finds them in the
Peace Society. (Renewed uproar.) I say that to
me it is a matter of pride that I hare assisted, and
assisted not unsuccessfully, to arouse this country
to the danger which threatens it from the side of
France, and if I am censured by my constituents for
that conduct, I can only say that their opinion
differs entirly from the collective opinion of all
England. (Cries of " No, no," followed by renewed
uproar and confusion.) Instecfd of foaling that I
am lowered in the estimation of the public by that
censure, I think it rather reflects.on those who have
passed it upon me. (Cries of " oh !" and groans.)
The other point on which I am condemned is this,
—I have been too independent of the Ministry in
my votes and speeches. But' when I stood here to
have it decided whether I was to be your represen-
tative or not, I had been 17 years in Parliament. I
had taken an active part in Parliamentary affairs,
and the ground on which I was recommended was
that I had always been independent both of Mini-
sters and of party. It was in the exercise of that
independence that, with your approval, I assisted
to eject the Ministry of the Earl of Aberdeen for
the disasters of the Crimean war. It was in the
exercise of the same independence that I subse-
quently joined in the censure upon and assisted to
eject Lord Palmerston from office on the Conspi-
racy Bill; and while I did so, I did it in very good
company, because I went into the same lobby with
half his present Cabinet. (Laughter.) In the
exercise of the same independence, two years ago I
told the Liberal party and the leaders of the Liberal
party that they were making a great mistake in
neglecting the opportunity of amending Lord
Derby's Reform Bill, and I told them that they
were deluding the electors by withholding the op-
portunity of giving them franchises which they
would not afterwards be able to afford them, and in
the exercise of the same independence I told the
Ministry when they formed the new Government
that they had made a promise of reform which they
would not be able to fulfil, and therefore they were
taking office under false pretences, and I have:main-
tained towards them the same independent position
which I had always taken on previous occasions.
(Interruption and uproar.) If I am to be commended
'and elected because when I was a young man in
Parliament, and perfectly inexperienced in Parlia-
mentary matters, I formed my own opinion, why am
I, after 25 years of Parliamentary experience, to give
up my own judgment and opinions because my con-
stituents are stricken with a sudden homage for
the Ministry—(groans)—a Ministry which in the
last session gave them certainly a master manufac-
turers' treaty and a middle-class budget, but per-
petuated the tax on the necessaries of life to the
poor operative classes, and cheated the unenfran-
chised of reform. (Hear, hear, and cheers and hisses.)
I decline to do so, and if I am to be censured for
I
that course of proceeding say that I would a
thousand times rather be censured now when I am
right—(hisses, groans, and uproar)—then obtain
your applause when I was wrong. (Renewed hisses.)
And inasmuch as undeserved censure is praise in
disguise, I take the vote of censure yesterday only
as showing that on the question of peace and the
question of independence I was acting consistently
with what I have always professed and always
practised; therefore I think it the highest compli-
ment I could have received. (Loud laughter, min-
gled with. hisses and cheers.) Tasked for something.
yesterday of the electors which I did not get, and I
will ask it of the non-electors now. (A Voice, You
won't get it." Laughter.) lam sorry for that, be-
cause what I asked for was—only justice. If you
will not give me justice I am very sorry, for I ask
for that, and that only. (A. Voice,
"And you have
got justice.") I have come to meet face to face any
one who has a charge to bring against me. All I
asked yesterday was that the electors should hear
me before they judged me, and how did they act They came down with a ready cut and dried reso-
lution, and I hope I don't use too strong a term
when I say that resolution began with an untruth.
(Hisses.) It began with these words :—" That,
having heard' Mr. Horseman." (Laughter.) Will
anybody who prepared or spoke to that resolution
tell me that it was not prepared before I entered
this room, and before I began my speech ? Am I
not therefore justified in saying—I don't wish to
use too strong a term, I don't wish to offend you,
but I tell you the truth when I say, that the words
of that resolution are self- evidence of untruthfulness
and hypocrisy, (Hisses, groans, and great uproar.)
While it pretends that I was heard, and that the