The Sun.
London, England, 1868-04-16 00:00:00

LONDON, THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 1868.

The Hull Conservative Association has held an
entertainment, which went off very successfully and
was well attended, illustrating the importance of
organisation, by the fact of its numbers. Mr. BELL,
who is the future Conservative candidate, proposed
her MAJESTY'S Ministers, and was well received on
his own account, and also in consequence of the
theme of his discourse. The trust reposed in the
present advisers of the Crown had been well placed,
and no better proof could have been given, he added,
than that afforded recently by the retirement of the
First Minister. When LordllEßßT found that he could
no longer continue in office on account of his failing
health, he gave up the proudest office a subject can
hold, that of the Premiership of England, amid the
regret of both sides of politicians and all grades of
the country, for friends and foes concurred in " re-
cognising in him the first Conservative in the land,
their most distinguished countryman, whom all
England delighted to honour." The present Pre-
mier was, he contended, a man of the most exalted
intellect, and would combat most manfully with the
quasi-Liberals. It had been hoped that some of the
members of the Administration would have been
present, but the very arduous duties which now press
upon them prevented the poor from doing so. They,
however, have the satisfaction of finding that their
services have been appreciated by the numerous as-
sembly, and ample justice awarded to them. Ad-
miral DUNCOKBE made some very interesting ob-
servations on the Hull Conservative Association,
referring to the fact that until lately working men
had not had an opportunity of judging of politics
for themselves, they had been kept hard and close
at work, and therefore all they learned on the sub-
ject was gathered from political agitators who went
about disseminating their extreme:opinions. For-
tunately for themselves and the country a new state
of things has arisen, and people begin to reflect on
their own account, instead of forming their opinions
second-hand, as it were, from others. Respecting
the Irish Church, Admiral DUNCOMBE said that he
had long been of opinion that there were anomalies
connected with that Establishment, but he did not
want to put the axe at the root of the tree and level
it entirely. Mr. GLADSTONE'S course in taking the
matter up in such a hurry, after doing and saying
nothing on the subject for years, showed that it was
for him a "stalking horse" to power.

Lieutenant-Colonel PEASE, as President of the
Hull Conservative Association, responded to the
toast, and observed that he had been a
member of the Association for twenty-fire years,
and of various other associations as well ; hence he
could bear testimony to the zeal with which they
had laboured to keep in peace with all around them
and preserve the best interests of tin country. Mr.
GLADSTONE'S undue haste to act before the new
Reform Bill comes into operation, on the subject
of the Irish Church, was ably descanted upon by
the speaker, and he then passed on to topics of a
more local and particular interest, declaring that it
was a " cheering thing for them to witness the pro-
gress that had been made of late in the town, and
many around him had worked their way up to their
present position by their industry, perseverance,
and talent; hence their co-operation was of the
greatest consequence, and should be fully appre-
ciated." The prevalence of these associations through
the country is not a thing to he wondered at, and cer-
tainly shows that more of the working classes are of
moderate opinions than some are ready to imagine.
The more the mind of the people is allowed to think
for itself, the better for all concerned, and we
expect these Liberal Conservative Associations
will, in the course of time, render great
service to the community, and even now
they must offer a wholesome resistance to the
encroachments of the more extreme sections of the
Radical party. There is no tyranny like that of
the demagogue, for he gives no quarter to any one
who differs from him, and those who have intelli-
gence and spirit enough to discern and resent his
unfair estimate of public affairs must hide their