The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1847-06-29 00:00:00

HOLME, Esq., and

Resolved,

That a Deputation, consisting of the Chairman, Mr. Leigh,
and Mr. Haigh, nom, proceed to wait upon Sir D. Mackworth,
at the Adelphi Hotel, to inform him of the above resolution.

T. B. HORSFALL, Chairman,

Sir DIGBY MACKWORTH will MEET and ADDRESS the
ELECTORS, from the Exchange-buildings, To-tiounow, at
Three o'clock.

Liverpool, June 28th, 1847.

TO THE FREE BURGESSES AND THE PARLIA-
MENTARY ELECTORS OF LIVERPOOL.

•
GENTLEMEN,
TN accordance with the wishes of a large body of the
Electors of your Borough, I beg to offer myself as a CAN-
DIDATE for the honour of representing you in the ensuing
Parliament. If it be usual for an old Representative to lay
before you his sentiments on some of the leading questions of
general policy, it becomes an imperative duty on a new and
untried Candidate to do so. _ .

The first point, and one which, I understand, is exciting a
great and general interest in your town, is that of the endow-
ment of the Romish clergy. -Upon this, as upon every other
subject, I desire to give you my honest opinion. It is a
i ques-
tion on which many great and good men may differ. It s one,
however, upon which I can never swerve from the principles
which have guided my conduct through life. What is in itself
wrong can never be justifiecl by expediency; and the endow-
ment of the Church of Rome would, I consider, be treason to
1 to Protestantism. The spirit of Protestantism breathes liberty,
order, protection to life and property, and toleration to al/.
The spirit of Romanism, to use the words of Lord Arundel and
Surrey (himself a Romanist), is antagonistic to Protestantism.
These sentiments may be called " bigotry ;" they are, however,
the source of all freedom. Were these principles applied to the
government of Ireland, and applied fairly, firmly, and yet ;
kindly, I believe they would offer a near solution to the most
difficult problem of the British Government.
The next subject, to which my attention has been called, is
that of the Navigation Laws. The shipping interests of Eng-
land are interwoven with all her past and present glories. I
desire 'to see her Navigation Laws, which have long been the
admiration of foreigners as well as of ourselves, maintained in
their full integrity: and the necessity must be very imperative,
or the advantages clear and decisive, which could justify any
tampering with this time-honoured system of maritime law.
On the monetary systems, various and opposed as they are,
I would desire to learn the opiniors of this large and enlight-
ened community, (founded, as those opinions must be, on
great commercial experience,) rather than to propound my
own • and I can only assure you, that should I have the honour
Of becoming your Representative. I should give to those opi-
nions all the consideration to which they are justly entitled;
and should I draw from them an erroneous conclusion, I can
only say that, though erroneous, it will be an honest one.
The repeal of the Corn Laws is become the law of the land.
I was opposed to it; but should deprecate any intermeddling
with that law until considerable experience of its effects shall
have tested its bearing and value. I should desire Free Trade
with all nations, who will reciprocate its advantages with us ;
subject of course to such modifications as may be requisite to
maintain the fiscal integrity of the state.
Having thus, Gentlemen, laid before you, clearly, as I hope,
my views on the protection of our national Protestantism, as
essential to real liberty and good government—on the mainte-
nance of our Navigation cod—on the repeal of the Corn Laws,
as a settled question;—and on the conditional benefit of recip-
rocal Free Trade—l have only to add, that, if brought into
Parliament by your suffrages, it will be my endeavour to pro-
mote your local interests, and to attend carefally to the public
and private business, which so vast a commercial town as
Liverpool must originate.
With these sentiments, Gentlemen,

I remain
Your faithful and obedient Servant,
DIGBY MACKWORTH
_ _

June 28th, 1847.

TO THE ELECTORS OF THE BOROUGH OF
LIVERPOOL.

GENTLEMEN,
T HAVE have had the honour of receiving a commu-
nication inviting me to become a CANDIDATE at the ap-
proaching General Election, for one of the vacancies created
by the resignation of your present Members.
In accepting this invitation, 1 feel most sensibly that I aspire
at once to nearly the highest and most honourable distinction
in public life ; for such an one I hold to be the representation
in Parliament of a constituency so important as that of Liver-
pool, as well by its numbers and intelligence, as by its industry
and its wealth.
Had this choice fallen upon some one eminent in.the State,
and whose time and attention had already been devoted, with
success, to the public service, I should have rejoiced, upon your
own account, at the selection ; but as I have been thought wor-
thy to receive this very flattering proposal—one peculiarly gra-
tifying, as opening to me a prospect of representing my native
town,l accept the offer, in the hope that I may, by a zealous
and independent discharge of my duties in Parliament, and an
unremitting attention to your interests, justify, in some degree,
the compliment that has been paid to me.
My opinions, I trust, are well known to you to be those which
have long guided the supporters of a liberal spirit of legislation ;
nevertheless, on some questions, which are at the present mo-
ment of peculiar interest, a more particular explanation will be
naturally expected from me.
Although, by the enlightened policy of the present Parlia-
ment, duties and restrictions have been removed from the
leading articles of consumption, and the statute hook now re-
cords the triumph of the principles of commercial freedom,
diligence and attention will still be necessary to secure to the
people the full benefit of these important changes, and constant
,exertion will be required to obtain for them the advantage of
,still further progress.
Should I havethe honour of becoming your Representative,
.1 shalt be proud of the opportunity, through you, of contending
for the practical extension of the principles thus already ad-
mitted, to every article of use, comfort, or convenience, and of
giving my best assistance to the completion of a tariff, the
operation of which would not only contribute to our prosperity
athome, but, by the enlargement of our transactions with fo-
reign countries, strengthen the feeling of mutual dependence,
and secure to us the inestimable blessings of peace.
Whilst actively engaged in urging forward these improve-
ments in our commercial code, as calculated to foster the
industry, add to the comforts, and advance the prosperity of
the Country, I should always take the deepest interest in those
measures which, by diffusing instruction, and raising the peo-
ple generally in the scale of civilization, would have an equally
direct and even a more powerful tendency to promote their
permanent welfare and happiness. Strongly impressed with
this feeling, I shall be happy to be found associated with you,
in assisting to establish the most efficient system of moral,
intellectual, and religious education.
I know and admire the cheerfulness with which
.you are
bearing the severe pressure upon your industry, occasioned by
the late fearful calamity in Ireland, and I join in the general
approval of the measures taken for the relief and for the im-
provement of the people of that country; but should the enact-
ments now passing through Parliament be found insufficient to
protect this country, and particularly von, against the recur-
rence of the unjust burdens under which you are at present
suffering, I should think no efforts too great to secure such
alterations and amendments as may do justice to your interests.
I should also cordially support all future measures calculated
to encourage in Ireland a love of good order, a spirit of indus-
try, and a feeling of self-reliance.
I have no personal objects to serve, nor any feeling of ambi-
tion to indulge, that would not be fully gratified by the distinc-
tion of being your Representative. My freedom from all other
engagements would enable me to devote my time and attention,
almost entirely, to your Parliamentary and Local Interests, and
for any
exertion I might be called on to make, I should,find
ample recompense in the belief that I had obtained your confi-
dence.
I have the honour to remain, Gentlemen, your very obedient
Servant, THOMAS B. BIRCH.
10th Jnne, 1847.