The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1838-10-23 00:00:00

attention, but content myself with thanking you most cordi-
ally for the manner in which.you have received my health,
and for every other expression of kindness and cordiality
which 1 have received at your hands. (The noble lord
,sat
down amidst tremendous cheering.)
Celisswat.i. CEES WELL, Esq. immediately rose and was
greeted with a burst of enthusiastic cheering. When silence
had been obtained, he said :—lf the frequent repetition of
acts of kindness on your patt towards me could ever render
me insensible to their value, I 'should be in great danger of
soon forgetting the position in which I am placed towards
you, and the debt of gratitude which I owe, and never can
repay. For gentlemen, if to receive an act of kindness, mid
to fotget it, be a proof of ingratitude, how great would mine
he it 1 could forget those repeated acts of kindness which you
show to me whenever. I have the happiness of corning
amongst you. lie assured, gentlemen, that nothing could
be so grateful to me as to receive these tributes of your re-
spect and your kindness, whether they are offered to ins as
personal to myself or to the cause in which 1 have embarked
as a public man. Bute for-the sake of my country, I had ten
thousand times rather hear one cheer front you fur the sake
of the conservative cause. (Enthusiaetic cheering.) And
it is because I feel that such meetings as these must animate
you in the good cause in which you are combined—that the
elergy of each will inspire the energy of his neighbour—that
the zeal of each will prevent the zeal of his neighbour from
flagging, that I trust such anniversaries as these will be con-
titfued long and long after your exertions shall have placed
our constitution in ssfety. (Great applause.) And gentle-
men, I love these meatings for another reason, that it affords
one of the strongest practical arguments that can be brought
forward against one of those specious nostrums—one of those
quack medicines, offered to the community, but hitherto, God
be thanked, rejected with disgust, I mean it offers One of the
strongest possible arguments- against the ballot. (Cheers.)
For what would be required of you if the ballot were adopted?
The ballot is to be tie means by which every man may keep
his political opinions secret ; and in order to be available to
some it must be•imposel on all; and. it you are to have the
ballot as an effective instrument of political power, then in-
deed every man must by law be forbidden tomake his politics
known—(hear, hear) then you could no longer assemble to
meet sour repre.sentaliues to show by your presence your
opinion of their conduct—to show that you approved of their
conservative doctrines, or to show that you disapproved of
any course of conduct they had pursued. (Cheers.) And
remember what must then be the degrading state to which
you must be reduced by the ballot; uo man must be allowed
to speak to hie neighbour on political subjects; every titan
must think solitarily and to himself; every man must think
to himself otherwise his opinions would be made known, and
to make them known must by law be an offence, or else the
ballot must be as absurd as we think it. (Much cheering.)
believe—it is in truth-that the impossibility of ever using
the ballot in this country as 'the means of keeping political
votes secret, is well understood ; nor do 1 believe that
any- party would mate' such a clamour for it, did they nut
understand, that with the ballot, they must inevitably intro-
duce universal suffrage also, and with universal suffilige
anarchy to every and any extent iu the land. And therefore
gentlemen,•it is, that against that measure I will ever oppose
my exertions to the utmost, and I do approve of all such
meetings—for Englishmen to come forward and boldly state
their sentiments, instead of slinking, and sneaking with the
• aspect of slaves, no man daring to declare openly what his
feelings are, no man daring to have that exultation which
arises from the performance of duty, even at personal peril—
that every man Joust be driven to the degrading excuse of
acting under the dominion of tear, or it is to he made the
means of enabling every one of you to deceive his neigh-
bour by promising one thing, and the next day doing another.
((tear, hear.) Gentlemen, there is another reason why I
am delighted with each meetings as these, because, in the
course of our parliamentary life, many circumstances must
occur—certain rules
.and regulations exist in the House of
Parliament which are not undeistood in the country at
large—private regulations for carrying on the business, and
which,- if not understood by the constituency, may be the
means of creating a-sine feelings of dissatisfaction between
theneand their representatives. You all know that formerly,
Within the last two or three years, when you sent petitions to
parliament, it was the constant course of the members who
presented them to make speeches on the subject, and for
thew colleagues to get up and make use of some arguments,
perhaps, as it has been satirically said, going over the same
grounds, weakening them as tie went along, which, probably
might be the case, if I followed my Lordl Smitten. The
rules of the Ileuse prevent that now. In order to facilitate
the despatch of business, no member is allowed to speak in
prisenting a petitiOn ; you are allowed merely to state the
subject of it; and, therefore, when you ask your representa-
tives in their places to support a petition, that is asking what
the rules'of the House forbid him. to do. This is just Sine of
these instances, where, meeting you in a body, we are enabled
to explain the parliamentary rules, which enables them to
preventyou thinking they are neglecting your duty, when
they are not allowed to say a word on a petition which you
may get up. Haviug said this much for the various reasons
I have for rejoicing in such meetings as these, there is ano-
ther, which makes me rejoice most heartily in this meeting: it
is, that 1 have the pride and satisfaction of congratulating you
en the triumph of the conservative party in time house in the
last session—it is to congratulate you as a sample of the con-
servatives of the empire, on the success of the exertions you
made, that you then returned a body of members to parlia-
ment so powerful that you were enabled to stem the consii•
tutional torrent, and to inaintain the walls of the constitution
hitherto unimpaired. (Cheers.). True it is, that during a
period of political excitement—l might say, of political mad-
nesssoine years before, certain fatal disastrous measures
were adopted—certain inroads made on your constitution,
but thank God, the torrent has been staid, and at present-we
appear tolie in a state of comparative security; but let us
not be lulled into comparative security; let us still he ener-
getic and combined, and with the blessings of God on our
efforts, our enemies shall gain no further advantage, Nay,
gentlemen, I believe our enemies are so conscioos at the
positien;iu which they stand, that no direct etrort will be
unamle ; it will be ail indirect one; it will not be by endea-
vouring byfoice to overthrow the efforts of the existing con-
sere:titer, getteration, but to poison the minds of the rising,
generation, in order-01ot they may become the fitting tools
f those who are enemies of our church. It is, we have yea-
sAt to tear, that by seine mischievous plan of education
(great cheeriog);.--that education may be given exclusive of
religion,—that aneystnay be taught to think that a matter of
' ,indiff;srence thettt,neo if uneducated in the precepts of the
gospel, they, can )gm little attached to the church— aud if not
,attached.to it, that they will not defend it: and if they do nut
defend it, it must be overthrown; and if the church falls, what
will stand in the country ,We hate clu instance of a col-
established 'London on the express i‘rinciple of ex-
o- oliag religien from among the students—(hear); but,
what a glorieult eenicmplat ion ! with all the efforts to support
that cstablishment,—with all the wealth of the radicals—with
the chatter granted by the crown to support its claims, that
institution is. 1 believe, at this moment on the eve of disso-
lution. (L nil cheering.) . We have had tt system of edu-
' catiou imposed tome Ireland, of a different (ammeter, but
hardly less mischievous : all religion is not excluded, but an
ataempt has been trade, that every species of religion should
be confounded—that no distinction should be maintaioed—
'that speimple 'should be taught to think protestautism and
popery a Matter of indifference, as equally good and equally
'true. I-leave it to those who live in that country, to say how
that system has worked. Gentlemen, some of you may
know how the attempt to introduce that system into this
country has failed -e(ehtiers)-Lbut I do trust, that amongst
metier schemes for preserving time constitution, we shall ever
be most vigilant in this, never to agree to a system of educe-
nun founded' upon a basis—never to consent to assist in dis-
seminating-principles which we do nut believe to be tree—
never to consent to make it a matter of indifference whether
the people of this country are educated in the popish'or the
protestant creed. (Cheers.) I think we shall hear no more
of schools founded on the principle of excluding religious
instruction altogether, for from a short statement of what
passed at a dinner in this town, it would seem that the Seere.
lacy of State for the Home Department had expressed- hint-
eelf.much gratified by -witnessing the religious instruction
imparted at the corporation schools iu this borough. (Hear.)
-'Thus far it is good; that noble lord having expressed bus
delight at witnessing this religious instruction going on, can
never afterwards sanction an education an. education from
which religious instruction is altogether excluded. So far
.we are agreed; on that point we are one; the remaining
point remains to be considered, what sort of religious in-
structien shall be provided? I wish the noble lord had been
it little-more eaplicit on the subject; probably the nature of
the occasion on which he spoke pievented it, otherwise we
might have had some nne- description of the instruction
whieir was imparted in his presence to the- children; we
Might have learnt whether it was of one faith or the other;
but though his lordship lies not stated that, we state it for
, out selves; we wish the children of this country to be edu-
cated in the Protestant faith, for which their forefathers bled,
—(enthusiastic cowering, time audience rising and waving
their hats)—and.py a. steady attention to that importaut
matter—by a sit enueus effort to procure for the people a
sound, religious, ttnd moral eduCation under the superintend-
ence of our pastoi.s of the Protestant church I trust that a
generation wilFarfse :mit worse than their fathers, and that
nutter them, -as''nider your protecting and fostering, iu-
fluenceathe-BritiA Constitution may flourish as heretofore.
(Cheers.) • Gentlemee, I trust on future occasions we shall
have again theesaine subjects of congratulation—again to
rejoice, ahedefehted efforts of our enemies—again to rejoice
at the- inereasing strength of our friends; so that nititnately
Wenaav florlthlitthose attempts of our enemies will fall away
to be as chnt•lniliiibleto them as they are to others. (Cheers)
Allow me to thank you for your kindness, and to assure you
that no exertions for your interests which I can make will be
tots great on my part. '(The honourable and learned meni-
ber sat down amidst loud and prolonged cheering.) •
The CHAIRMAN next gave —" The Members for the
County." (Drank with all the honours.)
The Hon. RICHARD RODTLIi WILBRAHAM, M.P., was cor-
dially received. He said •he only regretted that it had not
fallen into the hands of his noble colleague to return thanks
for himself on this•occasion; but as he had stated yesterday,
• Lord Francis Egerton had deputed him to make an apology
to therm for not being present at-their anniversary, as he had
intended to be. His lordship had been taken up to town by
-.the illness :of • one of his children, whom he was obliged to
send to the Mediterranean for the change of climate and the
benefit of lairs' health. (Hear, hear.) That alone was the
reasonavliy.he- was not-here, with those powers of eloquence
with which' ite - was gifted, to return- thanks" for the toast.
(Cheers.) ..• He (Mr. Richard Bootle Wilbraham) begged to
say for himself', that nothing could give him greater satisfac-
tion than attending meetings such as these; he was proud to
add that that -was the third anniversary of the Liverpool
Operative. Conservative Association at which he had had the
honour of being present ;' he hoped to accept their invitation
as long as they thought proper to request his company, and
that lie should continue to see them increasing in numbers
and prosperity. (Cheers.) Ills noble friend, Lord Sandon,
had alluded to the late meeting of radicals in this town, and
had been pleased 10 say that he disapproved of all their reso-
bilious except one. (Laughtet,) Ile (Mr. .ilbraham)
• cordially agreed with him in the abstract; he should have no
objection whatever t0.E500. a-year additional coming into
from the conduct of some per-
his pockets; but he thought,
sons, that such. a sum would almost make one doubt one's
own honesty, seeing that pay, and pay alone, was the object
and aim of the ministry. He was afraid that £5OO. a-year
given to him would maks hint put a double value on his poor
services, and make him
hurl think that he was worth much
, more than fhe money
-• winch the country paid hint, and that
he ouaht to look out for mine ather inducements. (Cheers.)
Though he had no objection to receive £5OO, he should de-
cline to be paid a' a rep esentative, or in any public capacity.
(Loud cheers.) Another hon. friend, Mr. Cresswell, had ex-
d his opinions at come length on the ballot, and with
• presse
him also he agreed cord ally. His only wish was, that if that
measure were cariied— and its supporters thought it could,
- for they boasted that th, v increased their numbers five and
ten every year—the sustain should be carried into the House
of Commons as well, . a that it' the representatives were
elected by secret votin t. they also 'should vote in secret.
(" We won't have the [allot at all.") It was unnecessary
for hint to repeat the c anions which he had expressed last
night as to the system of national education that.wassought
to be introduced ; he beleved they'ivere pretty well known;
and he should only add, that having seen the enthusiastic
reception given to the rc vereud rectors this everting, lie had
another reason why he slould wish -the moral and religious
edecation of the youth o the country to be, entrusted to the
parochial clergy. (Cheers.) He again congratulated the
society on the increase of its numbers, and trusted that the
children would be brought up and grow in conservative
principles, and that threughout the country those principles
would increase and prosper. ( Loud cheers.)
Mr. Ilona, by permission of the chairman, rose to give the
meeting a toast,- which was—"-Prosperity to the Liseerpool
Operative Couservaseve Association: may every attempt to
delude the-operative-classes, throughout the kingdom, meet
with the like-demonstration of constitutional principle as in
. our loyal .borough." ((treat applause.) He found that he
, had tonched a Chord which vibrated iu every bosom. Yes,
"may -every- attempt. t, delude the operative classes meet
with as.signal a fail-are us it did in this town, and may every
loyal heart cry 'Amen.' " (Loud cheers.) He Might safely