The Sun.
London, England, 1859-11-16 00:00:00

POLITICS IN BRINTOL.

On Monday the annual gatherings of the societies
which have been formed for perpetuating the fame
of Edward Colston, the eminent philanthropist of
Bristol, took place. In a pecuniary point of view
the Grateful (Neutral) Society took the lead, the
collection amounting to £586. Next came the An-
chor (Liberal) Society, at which £524 were sub-
scribed. And at the Dolphin (Conservative) Society
the amount realised was £519. Thus the total
contributions for the purposes of granting annuities
to the aged poor, relieving lying-in-women, and
apprenticing boys reached £1,629.
The President of the Anchor Society was Mr. B.
S. Robinson, town.councillor' and the chief speaker
was the Hon. F. H. F. Berkeley, senior member for
Bristol. Mr. W. H. Gore Langton, the other re-
presentative of the City, was prevented from at-
tending by indisposition, but sent a letter apologis-
ing for his absence, in which the hon. member re-
viewed the leading political questions of the day.
In responding to the toast of " The Members of
Parliament for the city of Bristol,"
The Hon. F. H. F. BERKELEY, on rising to ac-
knowledge the toast, was received with loud cheers,
which continued for several minutes. Silence
having been at length restored, the hon. member
said, Mr. Chairman, and ladies and gentlemen,—
They say, Sir, that age chills the blood, and that
the feelings are less intense as we advance in years.
I do not know how that maybe, but I can only say
this, that a cheer from my Bristol friends would, I
think, nearly raise me from the dead. (Laughter and
loud cheers.) I have received so much kindness
from the people of Bristol, and I have endeavoured
at all times to repay that kindness by zeal, but I
have found all my efforts fall short of what I have
attempted to do. This is the 22d consecutive mini-
' versary.on which I have been enabled to attend at
the anniversary of Colston. (Cheers.) To be able to
, attend 22 years successively, and always on the
same day, is, I think, being very fortunate indeed,
eonsidenng the evils to which we are subject in this
life, the occasional indisposition we all must have
sometimes, and the other occurrences which may
. prevent us being present. I have ever felt it a duty,
and a duty from which I think no member for the
city of Bristol ought to shrink to attend this meet-
ing. (Cheers.) I believe that there is in no otEer
city a similar meeting. Here: we are assembled to
do honour to the memory of the great philan-
thropist, and assembled in a particular manner.
We are assembled in one place as one party, in
another place as another party, and in a third place
as all parties combined. (Cheers and laughter.)
- The system has its advantages, and I have not yet
been able to see the counterbalancing disadvantages.
One advantage which it possesses is that there, is a
kind. of rivalry between the two opposite political
parties, which causes the funds of both parties to
• increase. (" Hear, hear," and cheers.) There is
another great advantage, exceedingly agreeable to
me, in it affording me the opportunity of my meet-
ing these friends whom Iso highly respect; and
there is another circumstance which to a man of
my political tenets is rather to be considered an ad-
vantage—l have an opportunity of laying my poll-
- tieal conduct before my constituents. (Cheers.)
-Lately the Tories have shrunk from politics at these
meetings, and for the first time in their life begin
to say, " Oh, perhaps the less we say of politics on
these charitable occasions the better." (Laughter.)
But when we remember how vividly they used to
look into politics once—how the Dolphin was the
scene of a vast deal of undeniable Toryism once, we
must wonder what is the reason why now they are
backing out of their former conduct. (Hear, hear.)
I think the reason is explained by recent events.
The Tories have now a very strong party, but they
have very little principle. (Hear, hear.) Toryism
itself is dead, while party is strongly alive.
(Hear, hear.) Toryism ! There are many grey
heads here who remember what Toryism
used to be. There are many young gen-
tlemen here who know it, who may have learnt it
from reading or from their relations; they know
what Toryism is now, but they have to learn what
it was then. But it is necessary that we should
follow the history of the party—that we should
keep the Tories to the acts which they formerly did,
and not allow them to confound themselves with
the acts they are now doing. (Cheers.) Mr. Disraeli,
a most ingenious man, made a speech once in the
House of Commons, one of those violent philippics
against Sir R. Peel which now come back to him-
sef and his party, in which be said that Sir R.
Peel had watched the Whigs while they were bath-
. ing, had stolen their clothes, and put them on his
back. (Laughter.) Whether that was true or was
not, I will not say, but certainly it is realised at
the present moment in the case of Lord Derby and
his party—(cheers)—for the acts which they call
Conservative acts are those which we have been re-
commending for a long course of years, which we
have urged on them from time to time, and which
the Tories are now compellc.i to assist us in carry-
ing out. (Cheers.) This is old Colston's day.
There is scarcely a Bristol man who is not well
• read in the history of old Colston. We know that
old Colston was an honest old Tory; we know that
he was a staunch Church of England man. We
' even know that we could wish to pass over certain
blemishes in the character of Colston, taking into
consideratiou his munificent charities. (Hear, hear.)
For instance, we pardon while we do not see wlay
Colston in his charities should have put a bar on all
Dissent. No Dissenter can be a recipient of Colston's
charities. Why do I call that to your attention ? I
will ask you to walk with me to the Dolphin dinner.
(Laughter.)There is no doubt a splendid and goodly

company. There are assembled the beautiful ladies
of the city, who have been desired to attend in full
dress—(laughter)—at least, so we are informed by a
supplementary advertisement from Mr. Aiken, by
which both the gentlemen and ladies are desired
more especially to attend because Mr. Aiken has got
a duke. (Loud applause.) Yes, according to this ad-
• vertisement there is the promise that his grace the.
Duke of Beaufort—a most excellent gentleman, I
wish he was here—(hear, hear)—is to attend at the
. Dolphin dinner; and, moreover, it says not only
have they a live duke with a coronet on his head,
but there is to be also Sir Frederick Wm. Slade.
(Laughter.) " Walk up, ladies and gentlemen;
walk in"—(rene wed laughter)—says Mr. Aiken,
" here, gentlemen, you shall see what you shall see
—(loud laughter)—a real duke with a coronet on
his brow, and a live lawyer stuffed with straw."
Roars of laughter.) And so they have gone to the
Dolphin to see it, I hope sincerely they will pass a
pleasant evening. I hope that their funds will be
. increased from what they were last year. I hope—
no, I will not hope that Mr. Phippin has sent his
old port there, because that is said to be very
powerful port. (Laughter.) But Ido hope that they
may have excellent wines, excellent viands, and a
most pleasant evening. (Hear.) I shall be curious to
learn what principles they are now about to be
guided by ; they have cut all their old principles.
(Hear.) They go about talking-of education—aye,
education, which is to be extended to the hungry
Dissenter. Is that Toryism ? 'That was not the Con-
servatism we used to remember, Mr. Kempster.
(Hear.) There is another grey head sits next him ;
do you call that Toryism, Mr. Powell ? (Hear.)
No, it is not. What en earth is Toryism now that
they have cut everything ? They have cut the
encouragement-of-ignorance system they once re-
joiced in. They have cut their religious opinions,
for the Jews now through their means sit in Par-
liament. (Cheers.) They have cat their former Con-
servative principles so far that they have adopted
one of the points of the Charter and let people into
Parliament without a qualification. (Cheers.) They
have cut everything, I say. Why, they have cut old
Niblett and the White Lion. (Cheers and laughter.)
The only thing they have remaining to do is to dye
their old blue rag and turn it out a dirty green.
Now that is being Conservative. Well, then, ali
I can say is I rejoice I am not a Conservative.
(Cheers.) I rejoice, and I rejoice for my friends
around me also, that we have never hidden our
principles but ever kept them steadily before us ;
that we have ever been the friends of civil and

religious liberty, and that by our acts and deeds
the Tories hare been driven to adopt the same.
(Cheers.) But, then, do not let them coma in
under false colours, do not let them take down the,.
old flag which was the emblem of the old party of
the TorieS, which was the emblem of the Conscrva-
tires. It is not the old case. They want a new
watchword, a new war-cry. I will tell -you what
their watchword and their war-cry is now. It is
to be found in two short monosyllables. The war-
cry and the watchword of the Tories is -" Self and ,
Pelf" (loud cheers), and the whole. of their princi-
ples• '
are based on that—to attain
place, if possible,
as as Tories---if not, as semi-Liberals • pand
,rather
than not have place at all, I believe they woul•1
turn Radicals. (Cheers and laughter.) They have
tasted the sweets of office lately. It is dangerous
to let wild beasts taste blood (laughter), they always
become mischievous, and I have always observed
that Tories get vicious when they have once had a
taste of the Government loaves and fishes (Laugh.
ter.) But what I would warn you against is su-
pineness—not to allow these Tories to step into
your slippers, nor to slide into your chairs, or take
your place at your feasts; rcserse them for your-
selves. (Hear, hear.) Do not stand any Toryism
in7the guise of Liberalism ; you will find plenty of
it -going' • I speak to you after a general lection, a
general election of vast importance, and it' you will
excuse me and pardon me for detaining your time
(cheers, and "Go on ") I should like to say one
word on the subject of that election. (Hear, hear.)
It has been my fortune in niging that great ques-
tion which I think e.3sential to the liberty of the
electoral aody—l need not tell you I mean the bal-
lot (cheers)—in urging that question on the House
of Commons it has been twice my fortune to do so