The Sun.
London, England, 1868-06-25 00:00:00

THE COBDEN CLUB.

The annual dinner or the Cobden Club was held on
Wednesday evening at the Ship Hotel, Greenwich. A
special steamer was in waiting at half-past five o'clock at
the Honse of Commons stairs, and shortly before six o'clock
it started for Greenwich. In about half an hour the boat
arrived at Greenwich, and the company sat down to
dinner, which was served without delay. The Right
Hon. C. P. Villiers occupied the chair, supported on his
right by Mr. Cyrus Field and Mr. Goldwin Smith, and on
his left by Mr. Howe, Viscount Amberley, M.P., and
Ricciotti Garibaldi.

In proposing the toast of " The Cobden unit); tne
CHAIRMAN feelingly alluded to the memory of the great
free-trader, and spoke of Mr. Cobden's influence on the
many questions which had since been brought prominently
before the public.. Alluding to the Irish Church, the
chairman said there was one subject which be (Mr.
Cobden) considered one of the chief questions in
regard to Ireland, and it was curious to refer to his
view on the subject of the Irish Church now,
because one would suppose they were uttered at the
present time. In 1835 he instituted an inquiry
as to why capital was repelled from Ireland, and his
opinion was that such must be the case owing to the
errors of legislation. A dominant Church- opposed to
the national religion was the primary cause, nor could
there be prosperity for Ireland until the temporal
conditions of the two Churches were placed on the
same footing. As to the objection that the fate of the
English Establishment was involved in that of the
Irish, there was no analogy, as in England a majority
of the people supported the Church, whereas in Ireland
it was opposed by six-sevenths of the people. Could the
income of the Protestant Church be raised in Ireland
without the pockets of Roman Catholics ? What would
the people of this country feel if they had to pay immense
revenues for the support of Unitarianism established in
England ? Would not children be taught to abhor the
very name of Unitarian ? However enlightened the
policy of the Government, would the people of this
country be found to carry on their business while suffer.
ing under such a grievance to their conscience ? Such
were the opinions of Mr. Cobden, who was independent of
party.
Mr. G OLDWIN SMITH, in responding for the club, said
that although he intended leaving the country, be should
be a good Englishman wherever he was—an Englishman
who would be a faithful disciple of Cobden, and a sincere
friend and a faithful member of the Cobden Club. The
club was formed with no party purpose, and therefore he
would not refer to that struggle which was passing through
all their minds. But there was a great struggle. He could
not, of course, doubt on which side of that great struggle Mr.
Cobden wouldhave been found. He would have been entirely
on the side of those who desire justice for Ireland—(hear,
hear)—and in support of those enlightened principles
which were upheld by the Liberal party—principles which
after all were truly Conservative as well as Liberal.
(Cheers.) He (Mr. Smith), though from a distance,
would watch with interest the result of that struggle,
which he hoped would he for the good of his country
and the ascendancy of those principles which his friend
Mr. Cobden maintained throughout his whole life.
(Hear, hear.) He hoped they would be able to unite his
love of justice and his broadness of view, which neves
allowed him to engage in a party struggle for party
(Hear.) Going into the struggle, it was impossible to say
whether immediate victory or immediate defeat would be
the result. But this much was certain : if they went inte
the struggle with the spirit of the great man who preceded
them, they would ultimately win a victory, not merely for
their party, but for their country and humanity. (Loud
cheers.) •