The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1839-11-15 00:00:00

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WARRINGTON CONSERVATITE DINNER

('&Om the Second Edition of the Liverpool Standard of

Tuesday.)
The Annual Meeting of the Warrington Operative Con
servative Association, was held Yesterday, and was most
numerously attended. The dinner, which was provided by
Mrs. Thomas, of the Three Crowns, took place in the Town
Hall, which was handsomely fitted up for the occasion.
Amongst the gentlemen present, we noticed John Clare, Esq.
sen., the Hon. and Rev. Horace Powys, J. W. Patten, Esq.
M. P., John Clare, jun. Esq., the Rev. T. V. Bayne, Wm.
Hall, Esq., the Rev. James Wright, Joseph Perrin, Esq.,
George Cornwall Leigh, Esq., John Ireland Blackburne,
Esq., M. P., Joseph Wagstaff, Esq., William Wagstaff, Esq.
T. B. Crosse, Esq., J. I. Blackburne, jun. Esq., the Hon.
Atherton Powys, Peter Greenall, Esq., the Rev. John Mac-
kenzie, the Rev. J. Richards, the Rev. J. Todd, Richard
Brown, Esq., Edwin Steel, Esq., R. Hinchcliffe, Esq., the
Rev. T. Lowe, the Rev. E. Le Burke. John Greenall, Esq.,
the Rev. G. Levy, Gilbert Greenall, Esq., J. W. Ridgway,
Esq., Win. Parr, Esq.. Mr. Crisp, &c. Altogether upwards
of four hundred members and friends of the association sat
down to dinner.

The President of the evening was John Clare, Esq., and
the Vice-presidents were Mr. Joseph Leftwich, Mr. Wm.
Coates, Mr. Samuel Picton, Mr. John Reade, Mr. John
Smith, Mr. Jos. Percival. Mr. J. H. Becket, and Mr. Jas.
Pierpoint.
The cloth having been withdrawn, the PRESIDENT rose
amongst loud cheers to propose the first toast, " The Queen,
Duchess of Lancaster, may she maintain those principles
that placed and have upheld her family upon the throne of
these realms."—(Three times three.)
National Anthem—" God save the Queen."
The PRESIDENT.-1 beg to give you the health of one
nf the best of women, an ornament of her sex, who followed
the good example of old Queen Charlotte—kept her court
pure—(cheers)—and would not allow the virtuous to be slan-
dered with impunity. (Immense applause.) I beg to give
yen the health of her Majesty the Queen Dowager—Nine
times nine.
Band—Air.
The PRESIDENT next proposed the healths of the Royal
Family, with the usual honours. (Cheers.)
Band—Air—" Jolly good fellows every one."
The PRESIDENT.-1 beg to give you a toast, the first toast,
the best toast, and the only toast, I was almost going to say
that would be worth drinking. (Hear.) Be that as it may,
I beg to give you " Protestant Ascendancy—(cheers)—in
Church and State"—(renewed Cheers)—which I consider to
be the foundation of our religion, our laws, our constitution,
and our conservatism. (Applause.) I trust we shall never
allow it to be more impaired, but that we shall hand it down
to our children's children, as it now is.—(Hear, hear.) Gen-
tlemen, " Protestant Ascen fancy in Church and State,"
with three and thirty times three? (Enthusiastic cheers.)
Glee—" With a Jolly Full Bottle."
The PRESIDENT said the next toast was the health of His
Grace the Duke of Wellington, the hero of a hundred fights
—(cheers)—who, whether regarded as a soldier or as a states-
man, we could not find his equal in the world. (Great
cheering.)
Song—" He's a hearty good fellow."
The PRESIDENT—I beg to give you the health of the con-
servative peers ofthe realm—(cheers)—and thanks to them for
throwing to the wind so many of the unprincipled measures
that our joint-stock ministry would have disgraced us with in
the eyes of the whole world—Three times three.
Mr. Henry Gorst, an operative, here sang the following
parody on the—" Old English Gentleman."
OUR PROTESTANT PROGENITORS.
In days of yore bold Britain's sons all jacobites did shun,
And much unlike our modern Whigs in skill were not outrun ;
They prais'd their own good nation, and daily they would sing
" Success attend our Church and Laws, and God save the King,"
Was the prayer of our Progenitors all of the olden time.
Base agitation, then despis'd, now in ev'ry country's found;
And factious tricks of worthless cost in England do abound :
Old Daddy Hunt, tho' fam'd for gab, such wit could ne'er outvie,
And skinny Joe, with all his care, his actions we defy,
So unlike our good Progenitors all of the olden time.
Our altars and cur sacred rights reform'd from all their ills :
So call'd by Whigs and Rads, would not their vile ambition still,
Eradication's all they crave to soften down their groans ;
Get this accomplish' d to their minds 'twill ease their present moans
So unlike our good Progenitors all of the olden time.
Then to preserve our good old laws on our Peers we do rely;
All party jobs from Joe and Dan they utterly destroy;
While Meibourneites and Russellites in furious rages foam,
Our Peel and Lyndhurst brave the storm in spite of all theirgroans,
Like their Protestant Progenitors all of the olden titne.
Extant our modern Whigs so fam'd, with reformation mad,
The hoary head has reason good to pity all the squad ;
Debarr'd from ancient freedom when age is on the wing,
,Their dearest gem, no less than wife, can to their bosom cling,
So unlike our good Progenitors all of the olden time.
Bat lei us praise the good old days of our immortal Pitt,
Whose actions still rever'd by us when Premier he did sit;
His fame for ever not yet surpass'd by reformers' silly clan;
lie bravely 'treed the helm of state, to save his country was his
plan,
Like his Protestant Progenitors all of the olden time.
Then rally round, ye loyal hearts, with courage of true blue,
Still like your ancient forefathers to your country be true;
Then Nels'on like your duty do, surrender not your claims,
Whilst in your heart one jot of truth and loyalty remains:
Like our Protestant Progenitors all of the olden time.
Then till a bomber to the 'fair, and toast the health around;
Let nothing like disloyalty amongst our troops be found;
Our Constitution and our Church ! and may it ne'er be seen
To be forgot by her that rules, that is, our youthful Queen !
Like her Protestant Progenitors all of the olden time.
The PRESIDENT said the next toast was the health of the
Right Honourable Sir Robert Peel, and may we soon see him
in his proper situation as the prime minister of England.—
Four times four.
The PRESIDENT said the next toast was the health of the
Bishop and Cleigy of the Diocese. (Cheers.) With regard
to the Bishop, the President proceeded, I believe under the
canopy of heaven there is not a better man. (Hear.) I trust
that health will be spared to him to consecrate a church in
every square mile of his diocese. (Cheers.) I think he will
not need to die a very old man if we only look at them how they
are springing up. (Hear.) I thank Providence it is so.
(Cheers.) With regard to the clergy, if the laity would only
stand by them as they ought to do, and as the clergy deserve,
the church had not need to fear its adversaries, come from
where they may. (Loud cheers.) Fearlessly do your duty.
(Cheers.) Fear not ! Do your duty as the clergy do theirs,
and I warrant you, we shall have no need to fear the old gen-
tleman of Rome or of any where else. (Cheers.) I beg that
every gentleman in the room will join me in this toast in the
manner that will shew how he feels towards the Bishop and
clergy of the diocese. (Hear.) The happiest day I see is the
seventh day—(hear, hear)—and every one of you will agree
with me that is the day of rest on which the poor man can go
to his church and be edified from the only book which is worth
reading, the Bible. (Hear.) Let us do our duty ! The clergy
do theirs. I give you the health of the Bishop and Clergy of
the Diocese. (Cheers.)
The Hon. and Rev. (Cheers.)
POWYS, Rector of Warring-
ton, acknowledged the toast in nearly the following terms :
In risinz to thank you for the manner in which you have re-
ceived this toast, believe me, I am properly sensible of the
delicacy and the difficulty of the position in which I stand.
I am here to return thanks to you as a political body for
drinking the healths of the Bishop and Clergy of this dio-
cese ; and I am here as an unworthy member of that church,
an unobtrusive, as I ought to be, minister and ambassador of
peace, both to those who agree with and to those who differ
from me. (Heir, hear.) Though I cannot plead the excuse
of being unaccustomed to public speaking, yet I confess I
feel great difficulty in doing justice to such a delicate subject
as this, upon such an occasion as the present. I know there
are those present who cannot, in the sense and interpretation
I would put upon the term church—in its fullest acceptation,
drink with me, the church, as I hold that church to be.
Bat there is another and a political acceptation, in which we
can and do join this day, namely, that the church, the self-
same church which now exists, has been the great breakwater
between truth and error—(hear)—before the hoirid incrusta-
tion of popery ever disgraced the face of the earth. (Hear.)
In that reuse, gentlemen, I know it is that you drink it as a
political body, uniting with you others belonging to other
churches. Many men drink the health and the prosperity of
that church, for I believe there is no class of conscientious
disseeters who will not agree with me that had it not been
for that church—which existed previously to popery—we
should not at this present moment have been relieved from
the abuses which have disgraced the times of that church.
(Hear.) But lam here, as I said before, also, as I ought to
'he, an unobtrusive messenger of peace and religion, corn-
miasiened to speak in these terms ; and with such feelings, I
weald not willingly give utterance to a single sentiment which
could wound the conscientious feelings in any respect, or the
political sentiments of those who dissent from me. But I
must say that these are times when the most watchful and
unobtrusive *ember of our pure catholic and apostolic church
is forced to come forward from the scenes of peace which he
would fain to dwell in, and expose, boldly and publicly, his
utter abhorrence of those political sentiments which are now
gaining ground to the danger of this Protestant nation.
(Cheers.) These are times in which Le minister of religion
ought to come forward and de',„ once the unholy alliance,
which, under the dictation oi' popery, is certainly an union
vainly imaginary, that through the power of such an union
they could upset the church of which they are politically
jealous. (Hear, hear.) And if Ibe asked, which undoubt-
edly I shall be, how I could reconcile to myself the position
in which I stand, departing from the ordinary course of min-
isterial duty, and here dining with, and addressing upon the
subject of politics a political body, I answer in the first place
that I know of no scriptural reason why I should not dine in
such company as the present. (Hear, hear,) I did, Sir,
dishonour to the body over which you are now presiding
when I was first invited to dine with this meeting. I hon-
estly avow I did decline that invitation, I stated boldly, as
I am in the habit of doing. my objections, that I feared,
when a large body of Operatives met-to other, at a moment
of great excitement, when wine might inlluence their feelings
they might give utterance to sentiments, which I, as a clergy-
man could not approve. (Hear, hear.) But I now stand here
to ory Peccaei. (Hear, hear.) I have watched, as rector of
this parish, with anxious interest, the proceedings of this
highly respectable body. I will willingly state, that I was
wrong is doebting them, that I have proved to be wrong in
doubting them," tor from what I have read of the proceedings
of their anniversary dinners, and from the way I have heard
them spoken of in the parish, I am not aware of any indi-
vidual case of drunkenness, or of any intemperate expression
being used, by which they might have disgraced themselves
as a Protestant, political, and Christian body. (Loud cheers.)
I trust, sir, and I feel assured, as at my hands they
have earned that honest admission, that the character which
justly belongs to them, will not be perverted this day, by
such means, as that my character will be compromised with
theirs. (Hear, hear.) And if, on the other ground, lam
asked why, as a minister of religion, I am among a body of
political agreers with myself, I answer, and answer boldly,
I am something more than a clergyman. (Hear, hear.) lam
a member of the nation, and I am a lover of old England.
(Loud cheers.) But if again it be asked "what has called
you out of your state of peace, as you call it, and as a member
of the nation to put yourself forward to talk of the political
opponents of the present administration," I answer, that as a
member of the nation, they have forgotten their political
position. Hear, hear.) I say the leaders of the nation have
ao business to put themselves forward in opposing, and
openly opposing, the Protestant principles upon which the
government is formed. (Hear, hear.) 1 allude not to those
subjects of painful interest which have, of late, connected
themselves with the court, nor do I think they ought to be
made subjects of public discussion. They are not fit subjects
to be brought forward in public, if it only be upon this one
ground that we cannot hear both sides of the question.
(Cries of " Hear, hear !") But I do say of the present
advisers of her present Majesty, that they have departed
from the one great and grand principle of British legislation, and
have forgotten the principle of Protestant Ascendancy.
(Loud cheers.) And when under the advice of the present
ministry, members of the Romish church are put forward in
official situations, when reform after reform, as it has been
called, has been granted, when concession after concession
towards Protestant destruction has been demanded and met
with acquiescence, it is time for every member of this Pro-
testant nation to come forward and say boldly, " Popery,
thou has gone thus far, thou shall go no farther." (Cheers.)
But when I speak thus, let me be understood as speaking of
principles and not against men. (Hear, hear.) I hold it to
be a proof of true Conservatism, and a proof of true Chris-
tianity to uphold the offices of state, let those whom the
monarch chooses to place in them be what they may; and
though we may boldly avow our principles, I will never be
the Conservative who will utter sentiments derogatory to the
dignity of the crown, or lower myself by personal attacks
upon those who hold office under the crown, (Hear.) I