The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1847-07-20 00:00:00

THE ELECTION.-MEETING OF THE BUR-
GESSES OF EVERTON WARD.

Yesteaday, a most numerous and highly influential
meeting of the voters and free burgesses of Everton
Ward, was held in Halliday's coffee-house, for the purpose
of meeting Sir Digby Mackworth, and hearing him de-
clare his sentiments. Long before the appointed hour
(seven o'clock), the room, the lobbies, and a large por-
tion of the space in front of the house, was crowded by a
large concourse of the electors. About five minutes
past seven o'clock, Sir Digby Mackworth, accompanied
by T. B. Horsfall, Esq., J. S. Leigh, Esq., Thomas
Carson, Esq., F. Shand, Esq., and a numerous circle of
friends arrived in vehicles from town. They were received
with three hearty cheers of congratulation and welcome.
He then proceeded up stairs, where he met with a warm
and•cordial reception ; but owing to the number of people
who were present, many of the more timorous-minded
left the room, lest an accident should occur. When order
was established,
FRANCIS SHAND, Esq., was called to the chair, amid
the repeated plaudits of the meeting, and addressed the
meeting in a brief but eloquent speech, in the course of
which he introduced Sir Digby to the meeting, as being
the consistent advocate of religious liberty as based on
on their glorious Protestant Constitution. (Cheers.)
Sir DIGRY MACKWORTR then came forward and was
received with repeated bursts of applause. When silence
was restored he proceeded to say that the short time
which must necessarily intervene between then and the
election would prevent him from making a personal can-
vass of the gentlemen and freemen of the borough. In-
deed to attempt doing so would be a physical impossibility.
He felt extremely gratified at beholding the great number
of electors by whom that meeting was kindly attended.
That meeting—he should have said enthusiastic meeting
—to see and hear him declare his sentiments. (Hear,
hear, and loud cheers.) He was glad to see them, and
he was also glad to see the numbers of electors whom he
had seen that day, for he should be very sorry to present
himself as a candidate for the honour of representing so
large and influential an assemblage as that of Liverpool
wtthout first making himself known to them, if not per-
sonally, at least by the expression of his sentiments to
every gentleman and freeholder in the borough of Liverpool.
He was only desirous to come before them at the ward
meetings, in order that they might understand the princi-
ples upon which he wished to rest, and not that he might
catch a few stray votes; and with regard to those great
principles, he should be hapyy to answer any question
which any gentleman present pleased to ask. Any gentle-
man might ask any legitimate question which he pleased,
and be shonld have a fair, candid, and straightforward
reply. In a place like Liverpool—so great an emporium
of commerce—so great a city of enterprise and industry
must be a vast number of questions, which, although infe-
rior in degree to the great question of religion, yet they
were of snch a nature that, taking into consideration the
great talent of their former representative, he felt consi-
derable diffidence in following a man of his abilities.
If he succeeded by their voice, and should be returned by
their suffrages, he should do his utmost to promote their
interest, and pay every attention to their affairs in his
power, and he hoped that he should yet; by industry and
attention, be enabled to make a good and a faithful repre-
sentative for them. His only hope was, by unwearied
attention to their affairs, assisted by the great talent and
business-like energies and experience of the most in-
fluential and best informed gentlemen in the bo-
rough, he would at least be enabled to represent their
interests in the imperial parliament, and he would promise
to do all in his power to promote them. (Cheers.) If
there was any other question on which they desired to
know his principles, he would be, as he said before, most
anxious to answer them if they were put, and he would
avow his principles fully and fairly. He had taken the
trouble of putting his opinions on all the great questions
of the day in writing, and he had shown that document
to several of the gentlemen by whom he was supported,
in order that they might know for whom, and for what
principles they were voting. (" Hear, hear," and Kent-
ish fire.) He next alluded to the Navigation Laws. He
had always believed that those laws which had been de-
vised by one who—whatever else he might have been—
was one of the greatest thinkers, and one of the ablest
men which the country has produced—he alluded to
Oliver Cromwell—were not likely to be founded in
error. (" Hear, hear," and cheers.) These laws were
afterwards confirmed by Charles the Second, and by them
the foundation was laid for their national greatness. He
mentioned this because from that moment might be dated
the greatness of England—for from those laws sprung that
little fleet which, in the times of danger and invasion,
defeated the great Spanish Armada, and secured to the
people of England civil freedom and religious liberty.
(Enthusiastic cheers and Kentish fire.) They were well
aware that at that time England had not so great a
fleet as she had now. It was under the protective
influence of those laws that their commerce had extended
to the amazing extent which it had done, and under it
the navy had risen in successive advances in greatness
until it became the first navy in the world; and it proved
itself in a time of the direst emergency superior to all
the navies in the world. (Cheers.) He did not therefore
think that a total change in the navigation laws would work
for the benefit of the prosperity of England. (Loud
cheers and Kentish fire.) He would say :therefore that
those laws which they had tried, and found to be good,
should be retained. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) Still it
%light be found upon enquiry that they would be the bet-
ter of being altered a little in some of the details, and if
such was the fact it was clear that they should be amended ;
but whilst he said so he was formerly of opinion that the
principle of the Navigation Laws were to be maintained
in all their integrity, in order to secure the nation from
the machinations and devices of those who would lower
England to promote their own selfish ends. (Hear, hear,
and cheers.) On the subject of taxation he wished to
say a few words, and begged to premise that he was not
going to catch their votes by declaring himself to be an
advocate for the abolition of taxation. (Hear, hear.)
The nation had incurred a certain amount of debt in
one of the most useful and one of the most men-
meritorious wars which any people had ever engaged in,
and as thas debt, or the interest of it, had to be paid, they
were under the heavy responsibility of sustaining that
payment by sufferinga certain amount:of taxation. (Hear.)
Still, he believed, whilst he firmly supported the principle
of taxation, that great improvements might be made in
the kind 'of taxes which were imposed, particularly
on the poorer classes. (Hear, hear, and loud applause.)
In connection with the subject of taxation, there was
another question which came home to the poorest
man in the kingdom—lie meant the poor-laws. (Hear,
hear.) He had been chairman of the Board of Guardians
in the town of Newport from the beginning of the opera-
tions of that law, and he had carefully watched its pro-
gress. (Hear, hear.) When they first commenced to
work the law, an assistant commissioner came down from
London to instruct them in the way in which they ought
to proceed, but after they had studied the law and its
working, they came to the conclusion that they would not
be longer dictated to by the commissioner. They did not
approve of a portion of that law, and they therefore de-
termined not to enforce it. They did not approve of the
, principle of separating mau and wife—(loud cheers)—and
therefore they told the commissioner that they never would
be parties to any law, the principle of which went to separate
man and wife, because God had inflicted them with ca-
sual poverty—had subjected them to the vicissitudes of
life. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) They at once told them
(the Commissioners) that they should never allow any set
of men in London to legislate on the local affairs of their
parish or union, and decide whetherthe aged peasant;who
had spent half a century in his humble cot, should be
dragged to the workhouse, or should receive his relief in
his own humble home, or whether the just and holy ordi-
nances of God's sacred word should be violated, and the
poor paupers separated, husband from wife, when they
sought for that relief from the press of poverty which
the law allowed them. (Cheers.) It might be some-
what egotistic in him to mention this, but he did
so just to show how the law was carried out with
them, and he could aver for a fact, that during the
whole of the time which had elapsed since, they had never
seperated a man from awife, nor had they even forced a
poor man to come to the workhouse from his own door,
(Cheers.) Reasonable minded men would ask how they
managed that, and therefore he would tell them. They
told their constituents if they compelled them to carry
out the law to its full extent they might get other instru-
ments to do so. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) And since
although it was one of the most pupulous districts, and
one where considerable party feeling existed, there never
was a single word of complaint against that Board of
Guardians. (Hear, hear.) With regard to another sub-
ject—that was respecting the votes which had been taken
away by a recent act from many. of the most respectable
freemen of the borough—his opinion was that the prin-
ciple and spirit of the English Constitution went to ex-
tend the elective franchise to any man who could be bene-
fitted by the possession of it ; and, therefore, he

should wish and
franchise to the fr

ote for the extension o
Len of the borough. (Hear,

There was just one other question on which h
sirous of, saying a few words, because it was
caused him to be brought down to solicit thei

a question, the

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