The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1838-01-02 00:00:00

stitution of the BritisC laws, cpuldbe anything but a conserva-
tive. (Hear.) •He W 1,151 not speaking of the special pleader
wno looked with the. microscopic eye of a Irian searching for a
(ilm'ot,lmil "dreisl-I.:a.cbc.eu tptti:t acceptation , mspeakingtlm time term() —ft al' k'inlaat"ll:hroi 'tiliurimsseu ghtiagt.hheestt.:l eosi-i
cope ef history has traced the laws framed I itrough (he various
steees of seviety, who had seen now the taws had kept pace-with
the wants of men, awl adapted themselves to all the wants of
the lowest,. n dell the most polished society. He would ventume to
ase re without fearing the consequences that nearly .e very sound
le wy er in the kingdom was a conservative. It eves trite Wet
they had at present an Attorney• General, who had heeu-con-
fro' ted • 1 and confuted by a,laymnan—who had -declined the
existence of au anomaly never before recoguized by the. Bri-
tish law—who had declaimed that the British law had a right to
assert what it had not the power to enforce. Teat was a doc-
trine which the fathers and founders of British laws would
shake in their graves to hear, and a doctrine not to be tolerated
in any society in England for one moment. They, would allow
him to tell them that the bar, like every other institu.tion in
this country, was merely a means to an end. -The bar should be
the living commentators of the law, and it was- for them to say
whether the old allow a parsimonious and mean legislature F
so to strip t rofession of its emoluments and rewards,: as to
drive front it onourable men. it hail been truly observed by
the honourable baronet who had preceded him—and to fellow
him under any circumstances, was no trifling disatelvantail'e—•
that they were a nation placed under most extraordinary cir-
cumstances; that the members of their government, to a certaia
extent, the legislature of the world, were men utterly incapable
of framing
laws. to meet the exigencies of the times—that they
had men in office, who, far the Mere sake hf office, -had eon-
stently surrendered every. principle they, before had held sa-
cred, and had thrown them overboard at .the demand Of a hete-
,rogeuous band or, traitors, (for he. could call them Snotimiroe
else,) . and seek for the destruction of every- thin(' thny.held
good and great. Their ministers were truckling before these
nien for the mere retention of office, and the enjoyment of those
advantages which it brought to them. It was somewhat curious,
heexolfesseel, that men calling themselves reformers at the pe-
seta day Should twit Ilion with being an apostate from the ranks
of the reformers. .He asked one man 'for his definirien of
`• reformer," and he referred him to the Horning Chronicle; ane •
tether mall referred him to the 14.'enuminer ; another man who was•
eenally loud in his denunciations( a his (Mr. \NT.'s) inenneist-
euey, cud he. referred him to, the defunct Trite Sun as the sam-
pler of• a reformer's creed. it he (wee nearer home, where
should he seeleforthe stanaarit.oe reformers? •Why. a gentle-
man who had visited theme not long since. (Mr. O'Connell)
'would take them to Derrynatie.—( Hear and a laugh.). :. A for-
mer acquaintance of his. (Mr. O'Connell,) for ought he.khew,
addressing an assemblage in some neighbouring town at that
time, . Mr...Fergns• O'Connor, referred him to his pamphlet,
wlilch held Mr. O'Connell up as everything contemptible and
meaneand- told him that Ireland never possessed a mere rich
apostate—a more arrant traitor; another-man at Manchester.
referred him for his reform creed to the Manchester Guardian;
another to the Manchester Times; and another to the Man-
chester Advertiser; each one had its advocate, anti all of them
gave different definitions of that strange aud.all-impertant word
reform. If he has abandoned his former priaciples who was -lo-
be his accuser? NV ho amongstahese.tmen was to tell him that
he had abandoned his principles ? '['he fact was, they had no
common principle but one, and that was- the destruetion of
•
every thing in their constitution. Theiemotto.was, "Sic nolo,
sic polo, pro,ratione volatitas.'.' (Cheers.) They said the con-
ser,vatives were acting in opposition to the people. Let them
ask those men who:were the people? Why,. when Mr. Joseph
people, was •
Udine wished to convince parliament that .they (the conserve-
I nines? (Cheers.) Ile•who not •long since never rose in the
thie;ets,h)ligveertietriingliongtoiLK°iltkji:nstialylioll'urt,ot Ititele. Iviiv'iisthigespor.fottihrse of his doe-
House. of Cumulous but to speak of the enlightetrinent of t he me-
tropolis, end its-superier knowledge, was now singing " London
now is out of town," ."The boys of Kilkenny. are fine roving
Warimas.". (Cheers) Let them ask the 1-ion. Secretary.for the
Heine. Departuneut where he found his proofs or 'trawler
favour? o He shrank. 'ruin Devonshire in abhorrence and went
to the multitudes of Stroud. (Continued cheering.) Let them !
ask . Edward 'Tudor, of the Manchester Gnardiiert, who were
44 the people," and lie would tell them, as he hail done- in his
last week's paper, that (lie people were the middle classes; that
the rabble were unworthy of attention; that all those who
ortnion •with Edward Taylor, or, has partner, on
the all important topic of the new poor-law question, •were
differed in
nobodies. ( Hear.) In fine, they ,(the conservatives). found
th it these men agreed in no one topic hut destructionovhich it.
seeined to him they were all eeeking for, in order to their own,.
imaerandisement. The hon. baronet who had .preceded him had.
touched very. forcible on the imbecility of the present eovern-
nient, anti the utter failure of all the measures brought forward"
by them. If lie would allow hint, he would extend those views
a little further, and look abroad at the working of their measures,
for their. measures am! conservalispewere not confined in -their
operation to this country—conservatism stretched its arms over.
the whole:avert(' and. seas to nations as to individuals; and they
Must. deal out . the same treasures to all who Caine. within the
sphere of its action. What had. they gained since the present.
men. camne into power?. They had lost that power which Hol-
land- had always been inclined to afford them ; they hadae-
-.moved from the frontiers of Belgium, those fortresses which ages
had built, and which the wisdom of their foiefath.ers had thought.
necessary to resist the ag,gresSions of political France. Turkey
had become a province of Ruseia, Poland. had been laid pros-
trate in ashes a.nd, in point of fact they had given poeerto all
, hese governraents which it would have:been wisdom to.curlail.
They bad pursued time .same- line of policy in the German states,.
they had united Austria, Russia, and-Prussia.againet us; -and
'every one who knew anything of history knew that France
must he oppesed taus in some degree, and they had,. allowed
France to stretch her arms in Africat.and obtain a position Which
she might make. one of offence against, us. (Loud -cheers.)
If they looked to Spain they, found !here gathered all the.mis-
erable hordes that coneregated on the Isle ofDogs. to assist her
:Majesty the Queen of Spain—they found their general returned:
to, this country foiled and disgraced, and the remnant of
their country men who. remained thereleft to the mercy of the,
man they had gone to oppose, or to die and moulder under the
pestilential influence of this climate—(loud cheering)—and,
though last not least, let them look. to Canada. If, he wanted
to. find an argument to justify the conduct of. the:conservatives
Icarus Ireland, he would point.to Canada. The population
of Ireland had been asking rot power, and they had refused ,to.
grant them it, not because they wished to deprive them .f. the
rights of citizens, hut because they. believer!, and with reason,
that they were not sufficiently enlightened, advanced, and-mo-
ral to possess those powets they were so anxious to obtain. Just.
.so it appeared to him to have been with .Canada. The legisla-
ture too early.gave political power. to the uneducated popula-
tion. , They gave power to men who .by rank and,bv fortune
could.possess no claim to legislative .powere What had. been
the consequence? What must be the coneequenee
,so. Icing as
this world should stand? At.that very moment they were bettling
in Order to crush the licentiousness which had been produced by
that line of conduct. And the,coosequence, to the Canadians
must be; as it seemed to him, that they must take from them the
pewers they had a bused —l,liat they must limit the liberties.of that
country before they emild.o:overn her with anything like peace.
e mmistalloav him to tell Aim that however
They inustellew him to tell them as imperative conservatives—for
as he heti said on malty occasions, that man calling himself a
censervetiye who is not an operative was of no use to the con-
servative catte.—they
imposing an appearance like that was, that the eireat battle was
to he fought in.distriels mere unseen and less occupied. He had
had the priv.ileee mir addressing in this anti the adjoining county
v!re.nearty 30,9Q0 imperative conservatives to whom he would do
the instiee to say that they had proved themselves operative!,
awl if the state of the times had produced no other good effects, it
had called forth a spirit of inquiry amour hundreds and thousands
of persons in this kingdom whim were attached to our constitu-
tion, because they had waked round its bulwarks and made
themselves acquainted with' its advantages and had in conse-
quence become the foremost and best friends of the constitution.
( !leer.) . It might he .said that some Immune them were very
holubte individuals, moving in a very humble sphere of life.
that the battle was to he foateht
They might say " what can
much and they must allow him llthem Sir. R. Peel had
I do." Eacleindividu
to tell as. . . .
said on another occasion that it . was in the reotstration courts
,I might.do
the
strengthening of their cause liv^h . the retain of some
the worthy of the gentlemanlese means
Major Mass-
: on his right
They looked
land.—( Loud and continues! at
cheers.)—When
the overwhelmine expanse Ile hoped to see by
forgo the tributary L of ocean were they afterwards
to
streams that added to its importance? So
it, was • , with conservative associations. a whole they were
great and overwhelmine but their As
arise by
He
greatness must arise the
emieregation of individ-u'a's e would exhort everyman when
'he left that room to consider au operative conservative—
to read, to write or talk, or wall :elf
do something or other to
promote the cause they had in hand. Above Above all things he %you (t
sey to them, if they would listen to a young man, "Take care
ultra a to he careful of your sera
li strength—to be acquainted
witti the number of your tutee
knew
the discipline
,if
his
arinv.i._.it me field." When a general
the "wage and its numbers,
he went out with confidence into li
confidence Was half the battle. Ct e field; and
they
knew.that
to a meeting like that. It did not mnservatisto was not confined
consist in merely returning
Major Marsland to parliraiment, o• ' forwarding the cause in
their-own town, but it had for its lor
extended its influence to the highest'ject the greatest results. it
viduals. And if he (Mr. W.) wanteads.well as the lowest indi-
for a living evidence of
e lout o
wits—if the hon, l'i
what
him to. quote imitim—,,con,cmitisanreneten, his right would
eahvas the same principle
that .wrested. at Runnymede from the
charter or English liberty. It was the sAnds, of. a tyrant the
arrested from the aristocracy freedom for
lame of which
and whirl* tore the mask froinvant wader )rhstit-e'''PPre*"° "I.t.'
e gartm of republicen-
tau. IM was the same holy cause whichestiAis
from popery. and which set the natimial nisititlaled preteetatoisin
in the.freetforh wherewith heaven had maileni(t.,cree (rad exulting
(Load cheers.).
Con,servatisin now Ives reads to act as a bulwark to our institue
(lens. when.attacked by the most dangerous of
many headed monster—the, mob. '!'hislase of
all
tYra.be cnts, the
took to on-
se rvatisni.„lt was not the intent of faction or partly, and taking-.
it to be such, he woe proud to call himself
these (lays of. danger to conservative barrist-e-r:n(' especially
in
barrister. (Cheers.) It seetned to him thatehe (s.: vastest
anent to sound legislature at the Present day was,eathepstf ret ar al
ceittlnct of the peopto of Ireland.
,Ile koew Ireland- well; he
knew her phesieol resources; he knew something of here e
banal ; he knew her generosity' ; he knew her me duli'tle
and superstition, and, above all,
..he knew
.her abject misery;
soil, mut if he. %night be ollmiwed to hint of patriotism after what had
been said. by the hon. beronet, when he saw a man titling in the
streets in a carriage paid for by the pence of starvine children,
and calling himself.e patriot. he email not joke on such a stilm'-
ject:-- It reused feelings of intlignatian within him to which he
did not give expression,—lle would exhortabenm to be firm and
wait, and to fear not the threats and intimidations Of their ad-
yersaries, anti whet they inede unreasenebte demends to resist
theta even too the death.—When our opponeets asked them to
giye up one stone„of the chide! of our censtitution, let them
steed by that stone. (Cheers.) Ile woul.l,be eternally making
demands and agitating until they slheild have an administra-
tion honest enough to clip the wings of agitation.
The.y knew
that they could uot eniet in ,such s etate of agitation.—lreland.
Might make her demaimds and hold out her threats, bat so Ions:
as .England should be true to herself, and show the same.
front in St. Stephen's that she once:did with the majority of
English gentlemen, representing English interest,. in ..that
!muse had nothing to fear.—lt had been said .the dying eagle
When he saw the barbed arrow plumed wills a feather from his
own wing,- it embitleced the agonies of his death.—So would it
be• with the British constitution.- In her integrity she might
presperand defy all nations, but let her forget herself and it•
would-add to her misery .when she should, see that• the arrow
which wounded her was barbed by her own sons. , (Enthusias-
tic cheering.) The learned gentleinan sat down, thanking
them for the attention with ehich they had listened to him, and
swishing them a happy new year.
The CHAIRMAN called upon .
JAMES HEALD, Esq ,rose to propose the toast of "Sirßobert
Peel and the conservative members of the House of Commons."
He had accepted the invitation-of his conservative friends to be
present on that interest hie occasion with the deepest gratitude,
by whose exertions the character of the borough had been re-
deemed at the late election by the return of their worths( con-
servative member, against the influence of a coalitinn which
every spit ited mind ought to have denounced. If that coalition
had proved successful the brand of tyrannevavould have placed
its hand on the burteogh, and its.indepentlent voice would never
have been heard. The government of this comintry had for
several years past been agitating, affecting the throne and insti-
tutions of • the country.. even to the risk of compromising, our
glorious constitution which was settled by our forefathers/ and