The Sun.
London, England, 1850-07-27 00:00:00

EVEWING, JULY 27, 1850.

For the v3to 147
Against it ...
Majority —122
The following totes were then agreed to, to complete
the sums plvviously granted on account :-
29,000/, for the pay of general officers not, being colo-
nels of regiments..
8.1121. for rewards fur distinguished services.
27,500/. for the pay of retired officers.
21,0001. for half-psy and reduced allowances to officers.
63,5001. for the charge on account of the pensions of
widows of officers.
46,0001. for allowances on the compassionate list.
18,756/. for Chelsea and Kihnainham Hospitals.
20,0001. for compensation and superannuation allow-
ances.
633,0001. for out-pensioners of Chelsea Hospital.
The House then resumed, the report was brought up,
and the resolutions agreed to.
The Fisheries Bill was rear! Pi. third time and passed.

MR. ROEBUCK AT SHEFFIELD.
lIEFFIELD, THURSDAY.—Yesterday Mr. John Arthur
.1:4-:ehunk., one of the Parliauw,tary representatives of this
bar-,ugh, appeared before has constituents to doliver to
them an adflre,4, in alcardance with an annual custom
th•lt Was established by his predecessor, Sir H. G. Ward.
There was a large and influential meeting, held in the
Town Hal) undr the presidency of the Mayor (llr.
Thomas Birks). The proceedings began at one o'clock
in the afternoon. ,

Before'latr. ROEBUCK made his addreaS he replied to
queries put to him by individual members of his consti-
tuency. He defended the vote of 24,000/..to•tho family
of the Duke of Cambridge on the ground .thav the
majority of the people of England were determined
to have monarchs, and therefore it was but jets-.
tiee that the members of the Royal Family should
be suitably provided for. He explained his absence
from the meetings of the Parliamentary and Financial
Reform Association, by stating that the House of Com-
mons was his arena. It was easy to talk to an applauding
audience. The difficulty was to go into an assembly
where all the prejudices of social life, all the prejudices
of ancient education, all the prejudices of individual am-
bition were against you—to state boldly, fairly, freely,
and decorously, your opinions, discuss arguments opposed
to you, and never shrink from meeting a discussion.
These preliminary queries disposed of, Mr. ROEBUCK
addressed the assembly as follows :—I am here, Sir,
at the request of certain gentlemen who believe that
there was a sort of implied obligation on my part, when
I received the honour of being your representative at
your hands, that I should from time to time make my
appearance amongst you and explain what required to
be explained in my conduct. Now, I think I may say
one word more about this, and then dismiss it. The ex-
ample is constantly brought forward of the celebrated
Andrew Marvel; and people appeal to his conduct
towards his constituents, and say, " there is the model
of a representative." Now, my answer is, that the
time of Andrew Marvel and the present time are
greatly different. When ho represented Hull there might
be a newspaper, but it did not travel down into the
country until a month after it was printed. There were
no railroads; there was no electric telegraph; and in fact
the country was as different from the present as
light is from darkness. You, I believe, know every
act of my political life just as well, by the aid of
those gentlemen (pointing to the reporters) whom I see
so well represented at this table, as if I were to come
down ()nee a week and tell you what I had done—and I
suspect a great deal better. Every step that we take as
your representatives you know. Every vote we give is
published next morning before our eyes are open. There I
is no hiding what your representatives do. Therefore, I
I say they need not be anxious to thrust themselves be-
fore your notice unless some very important matter I
calls for them. I have been now asked to make my
appearance here with a full persuasion in my own mind
that I could explain nothing that you did not already
know, but it being part of my duty to satisfy you
I have come down here to do so. As lam here,
permit me to say a few things. First, with regard
to my view of what will be our political history for
the next year, at least what I prophesy it may be. I I
will then say a few words respecting the individual acts
of the present Parliament in the present session, and .I I
will close what I have to say by addressing myself to
certain public transactions in which the working men •
and masters of this town have an especial interest.— '
(Hear and cheers.) Now, gentlemen, our friend the
mayor has referred to one act of my Parliamentary life
in which, as far as I myself am concerned, I feel perfectly
satisfied; and that is a late motion which I presented to
the House of Commons, and which the House of Com- I
mons was kind enough to pass with a large majority.
That motion referred to the foreign policy of the Go-
vernment. Now, I must frankly tell you that with the
present Administration lamby no means satisfied. I
do not agree in many portions of their public policy
with regard to our own international affairs. But in so
far as fbelieve that the English Administration, as now
constituted, represents to foreign nations a great
liberal principle, I was anxious that that principle
should not be put down in their person. And when
I say that I do not agree with them in many por-
tions of their policy as regards our internal concerns,
I say that which I fear you yourselves will discover
to be the truth in a very short time. If, instead
of being at the end of a session, we were at its com-
mencement, you would find that the great principles
of free trade and liberal government would be in daily,
hourly, danger. And so sure as Parliament assemble
together next year in the month of February, the old
fight between free trade and protection will have to be
fought.—(Hear, hear.)' We have gained one victory,
but we have not subdued the foe. The present Admi-
nistration is, unfortunately, in all its good purposes, un-
decided—it is in its aspirations for liberal government
so lukewarm, that the slumbering power of the House
of Lords, which is ever directed against liberal go-
vernment—(Hear, hear)—has reared up its front and
has awakened its energies; and next year, so sure as
Parliament meets, you will find that those energies will
be directed both against free trade and liberal govern-
ment generally.—(Hear.) There is only one way to meet
it. It is to have an Administration strong out of doors,
strong in the support of the people, and strong also in
its own individual energy and knowledge. There must
be no lukewarmness, either as regards tree trade or the
Irish or the English franchise.—(Hear.) These three
things will be made the battle-field next year; and you
will have this Administration, so sure as it meets in Feb-
ruary, put day after day in a minority in the House of
Lords; and every act of theirs, whether good or bad, will
be shipwrecked by that body. The consequence I believe.
to be unavoidable. And I was extremely struck by reading
the observations made by the present Attorney-General
upon his re-election at Devonport. He unequivocally
stated what I now state. He saw, as I see, that this divi-
sion will occur, and that this dispute and this eager fight
will take place. Ido not know that the Learned Gentleman
felt as Ido, but a great interest is about to be jeopardized
because of the lukewarmness of some of those who will
have to conduct the fight on our side. Therefore Ido
hope that the feeling abroad will have its influence upon
the Administration—that we shall have an Irish fran-
chise that deserves the name—(Hear,hear).--that we shall
have, as connected with what I believe will be the strongest
support that a Liberal Administration can receive, a pro-
posal to make a large addition to the English suffrage.
Based upon those two principles, free trade and a
large and liberal acquisition to the constituency of
this country, I think there will be such a feeling
throughout the country in support of the Ad-
ministration, that the House of Lords will not
dare to interpose between the- people and their repre-
sentatives.—(Cheers.) At present they have done so.
And I was struck by an observation made by a Noble
and Learned Lord the other day, who said that there
was a tendency out of doors to speak with contemptu-
ous feeling towards the aristocracy of this country,
and generally to bring the House of Lords into con-
tempt. Now I believe that if ever we do come to
speak of the House of Lords with contempt—if
there should be at any time a feeling in the edu-
cated mind of England against that noble body—they
will have nobody to blame but themselves.—(Hear,
hear.) If we should find that they are constantly hos-
tile to the wishes of the people—if we should find them
ever active in thwarting those desires for liberal insti-
tutions—if we should find them giving way to indi-
vidual and party purposes, and seeking to attain
power reckless of the consequences to the English
people—then indeed we may not only speak with
contempt of the House of Lords, but have a bitter
indignation against that body. And I must say there
was a tendency in my mind to look with anything but
favour upon them when lately I saw the despots abroad
found their chief support in that Right Honourable
House—(Hear)—when the battle for Russia, for Austria,
for Prussia was fought there, and successfully fought;
and when I saw that our only hope to prevent the
down-sinking of the heart of every liberal-minded
man in Europe was, by getting an opposite ex-
pression of opinion by means of the House of Commons.
—(Hear.) Now I would warn that Right Honour-
able House that this is an experiment that will be very
dangerous to themselves; that the less often they repeat
it the more sure will be their tenure of being; and that
they cannot risk its existence but by being thus
opposed to the true interests of the people.—
(Applause.) There is always the temptation, and
that Right Honourable body have a desire to over-
step what I call the liberal aspirations of this country,
which cannot in any way be checked or controlled ex-
cept by the united feeling of the United Kingdom. Be-
lieving thus 1 am ready, as I have hitherto been, to sup-
port the Liberal Administration. But I will in no case
link myself to them. When I think them wrong
I will say so, even though it should lead to put-
ting them out of office—(Loud cheers)—for I must
sav that of all the acts that have given me
offence on the part of the present Administration—
the calling together a body of Members of the House of
Commons, and threatening them with resignation unless
they did what their conscience did not approve—of all
the Ministerial acts that gave me offence that proceeding
of Lord John Russell did so the most.—(Hear.) I thought
it most unjust towards the persons he addressed, most tin-
wise as regards his own influence with the country, most
dangerous as a precedent in a free country.—(Cheere.)
Such, then, is my view of the question. I shall now, gen-
tlemen, with your permission, touch upon some of the con-
, duct of the House of Commons and the Administration
during the past session. I believe that in the present Ad-
ministration, as I have always stated, there is not a hearty
feeling towards the advancement of liberal opinions, and
that they have, by presenting a multitude of measures upon
the table of the House of Commons, prevented themselves
from doing anything like what ought to have been done
during the last session. Day by day we saw fresh
measures brought in. At the end of the session they are
all lumped together, and then occurs what has been face-
tiously termed the massacre of the innocents. Careless of
the enormous expense to which the country is put—care-
less of the constant disappointment in the public mind by
the very fact of the want of order and energy in the cause,
they are doing more mischief than if they did not
pretend or attempt to do anything, And I do hope
that in the coming session of Parliament there may
be such a lesson read them by the various means which
we have of telling the Administration what we
desire, that when next year comes they will base their
principles upon some one great measure—bring, that
forward—carry it on from day to day—and not waste
their time and our time and your money, and their ener-
gies and ours, in a heap of little, unworthy, peddling,
pettifogging legislation, which occupies our time, and
only spoils our tempers, and does no good.—(Applause.)
If they will next session bring forward what they will
not pass this, namely, an Irish Franchise Bill, if they
will make it a Bill for England and Ireland—a
really united measure—a measure for the United
Kingdom, we shall beat our opponents. But if they
merely indulge, as they did last recess, in a series of
ambitious promises, by which great expectations may be
raised, which expectations are only raised to be disap-
pointed by the Ministerial answer on the first night of
the session, their doom is sealed, and we shall have to go
through-.what .1 believe sincerely we shall have to go