The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-03-13 00:00:00

not intolerant either in spirit or in feeling ; he would give to
every class of his fellow-subjects those privileges which he
himself possessed ; he would be just and right towards them,
but at the same time he must be just to himself. (Hear.)
Now if this bill passed, we should he materially affected in
our representation by the parliament. We all knew, and it
had been illustrated in this country already, what had been
the effect of municipal reform here ; we all • knew what had
been the influence of the corporations in all parts where they
existed ; we all knew that in nine cases out of ten the
representation went with the influence of the corporation.
Now if the influence of the corporations in Ireland were
thrown into the hands of the Catholics—and he would speak
kindly and charitably of them ; he would take them by the
hand in temporal matters, and would serve them and vote
with them where he could—here was a principle he could
not concede (hear). He said, if this bill were adopted the
Roman Catholics would return to the British House of Com-
mons almost the whole of the Irish representatives (hear) ;
and they would not only have a vote upon questions of Irish
policy but upon questions of English policy also; they would
not only have a vote upon the education scheme, but upon
matters affecting the established church and our religion.
(Hear, hear.) Taking this view of the matter; haying
gleaned the knowledge he possessed from what he had heard
in the debate ; and having found by the debate the probable ef-
fect if the representation of Ireland in the House of Comnions
should be in the hands of the Roman Catholics, he must
oppose the motion. (Hisses, and uproar.) He would sug-
gest that Mr. Langan, who seemed to have been in hysterics
for three hours, be taken out, or that if he would not be
quiet, he be entrusted to the care of two or three policemen.
(Cheers.) He must say, that most of the measures carried
by the present government, had been carried, not by the re-
presentatives of England or Scotland, but by the power they
acquired from Ireland. (Great uproar.)
The MAYOR was very sorry the meeting would not hear
Mr. Bushell for a few moments longer, as the last thing he
had said was one of the greatest compliments that could be
paid to Ireland.

Mr. BUSHELL continned. There was this insuperable
difficulty in the way of this bill—that should it pass Ireland
would be certainly represented numerically, but not in her
wealth, station and influence. (Hear.) If they could get
rid of this difficulty he would then become as firm an advo-
cate for municipal reform in Ireland as he must now be from
connection its opponent. (Cheers.)
Mr. TINDAL ATKINSON, in a highly-declamatory address,
contended that Mr. Bushell's remarks were lame and impo-
tent, and that the grand cure for all the evils of Ireland was
this measure of corporation reform.
Mr. BUSHELL begged to explain. If Mr. Atkinson had
observed, instead of disregarding, his professed intentions of
not indulging in personalities, his conduct would have been
in much better keeping with his conversation. If, instead of
throwing ridicule upon his (Mr. Bushell's) position, he had
attempted to answer it, he would have done much more to
have served his own cause than he had by all the observations
he had thought proper to make. (Hear.)
Mr. RATRBONE would venture to answer his friend Mr.
Bushell, and some other of his good friends on the other
side. We had heard of some gentlemen being degraded from
the magisterial bench ; he had sat upon the bench with those
gentlemen, and before many weeks were over he hoped he
should again have the pleasure of sitting with his friends,
Mr. Robinson and Mr. Wright.' (Cheers.) Now, as to Mr.
Bushell. The House of Commons was composed of 658
members, of whom one hundred and five were from Ireland,
and of that number from seventy to eighty were the regu-
lar supporters of a liberal ministry. Suppose the whole were
liberals; that would be an addition of somewhere about 25
to the liberal ranks. Had his excellent Protestant friend,
being himself (Mr. Rathbone) a Protestant, so little confi-
dence in the stability of Protestantism as to imagine that the
loss of some 25 votes from among the Irish members would
upset the church ?

Mr. RUSHELL.-Mr. Rathbone talks of twenty-five as be-
ing of no consequence ; but whilst the present ministry are
content with majorities of one, two, three, fifteen, and twen-
ty-five, twenty-five are enough to do all the mischief. (Loud
cheers.)
On the motion of Mr. W. W. CURRIE, seconded by Mr.
RATHBONE, it was resolved, that the petition should be
signed by the Mayor, on behalf of the Meeting, and for-
warded, for presentation, to the Earl of Derby and the Mar-
quis of Normanby.
Mr. WRIGHT moved a vote of thanks to his worship the
mayor, for his able, impartial, and excellent conduct in the
chair. (Loud cheers.)
Mr. ROBINSON heartily seconded the motion, and said
every one must cordially approve of it who had seen the
manner in which the mayor had conducted the proceedings.
Mr. W. W. CURRIE put the motion, and it was carried by
acclamation.
The MAYOR said it was extremely gratifying to him to
find that he had succeeded in giving satisfaction to a
meeting like the present, where there had been such a
considerable difference of opinion, and to perceive that
he had carried the thanks of all present. (Hear, hear.)—
Although there had been great difference of opinion, there
had also been great good feeling, and he hoped to see that
prevail at all future meetings. (" Hear, hear," and cheers.)
He would just observe, in conclusion, that if any expres-
sion had escaped from the lips of any gentleman which
might be considered personally offensive towards any one,
he trusted, it would be attributed to the right mo-
tive,—namely, the feeling that influenced him to support as
much as possible those principles which he thought right ;
that they would not leave that place till all unpleasant feel-
ings had been banished, and that the minority would give
way to the majority, and help them too carry out the great
principle of good will which had just been so triumphantly
manifested.
The meeting then separated, having been occupied from
twelve o'clock until a quarter to five.