The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-06-22 00:00:00

they had certainly no reason to expect that a bubble blown
at the last would have the effect of changing the opinions of
this great constituency—(hear, hear). They certainly could
have no apprehensions that in a constituency like that of Li-
verpool, not actuated by sudden and temporary emotions,
but by the strongest and deepest feelings that could influence
the mind of man, would, having formed its opinion of the
character, and of the principles of her majesty's present ad-
ministration, be induced to change at once all the impressions
they had so long imbibed, by this death-bed repentance, if
he might so speak—(hear, hear, and applause). Ministers
had tried the constituencies at every point upon which they
thought they could gain some popular support, by attack
after attack upon every institution of the country ; they had
tried it in their attacks upon our religion, upon our educa-
tion, upon the magistracy, for they had disgraced themselves
by inserting among the magistracy the names of men whom
they themselves were obligrd to prosecute for high treason—
(tremendous cheers) ; they had tried to corrupt and debase,
to overturn successively the great institutions of the land ;
and when they found at last that this course of conduct was

withdrawing from them by degrees, as was seen by the re-
sult of the elections, the support they had at, first received,
they then tried, in the last convulsive struggles of death, to

make a new ch.aracter as the patrons of commerce and free
trade—(hear, and loud applause). But surely if they had
had this abstract, this devoted attachment to free trade which
they now pretended to, they would not have waited till the pe-
riod of their dying struggles, when powerless to carry it into
effect, to make the proposition !—(hear, hear.) When they
had majorities of 100 and 200 in the House of Commons, as for

a considerable period they had, or when those majorities were
reduced to 30 and 40; why, if they thought the principles of

free trade so essential to the best interests of this country,

did they not introduce them when they hid a chance to carry
them into effect? (Hear, hear.) Why postpone them—as
they themselves admitted they had in the House of Com-
mons, with regard to a repeal of the corn laws—why, he
asked, postpone the proposition of making these alterations,
until by their. own admission they had no prospect or expec-
tation of carrying them ? (Hear, hear, and cheers.) Why

had they done that? (Hear, hear.) He knew why it was
done ; he knew what reason to assign._ It was this—they

felt they had forfeited the respect of all the. solid, substan-
tial, and permanent interests, of the country, and they
thought by throwing up a new bubble into the air, they
might be able to secure to themselves, in oppositioi at least,
knowing they were powerless as an administration, a greater
and better support from the radical portion of the people.
(Cheers.) The meeting perceived now that the whigs were
lost as a party—that they were merged in the radicals, that
they had tied themselves to the chariot wheels of the radi-
cals, English and Irish, and whither soever they thought
proper to drag them they were bound to go. (Cheers.) They
had thrown overboard every respectable supporter which
they had, and now tied themselves to the chariot wheels of
that great tyrant, who if he exercised his tyranny towards
them in the same manner as he exercised it over his Irish
supporters, would give them little gratification in wearing
such chains as those which he pleased to throw round them.
(Loud cheers.) The question of free trade was, no doubt,
exceedingly plausible to the ear. He (Lord Sandon) pro-
fessed himself to be such a free trader as. Mr. Huskisson
was—a free trade beyond his, such a free trade as Mr. Hus-
kisson refused to adopt, he (Lord Sandon) confessed he was
not willing to adopt. But they must not be led away by the
fine theories of the political philosophers. There was an old
saying of the wisest sovereign of his day, Frederick the
Great of Prussia, " If you wish to ruin your country, hand it
over to philosophers to govern." (Hear, and cheers.) These
were a set of men—he wished he had the words of Lord
John Russell to describe them, for he could conceive of
nothing better, who thought nothing of the misery, confu-
sion, and embarrassment they caused, the loss of employ-
ment, and consequently of subsistence, to millions of their
fellow-subjects, provided they could only give effect to a fa-
vourite theory which they had concocted in their studies.
(Cheers.) These were not the men to entrust with the
management of affairs the of this empire. (Hear, hear, and
applause.) Every one knew how complicated was this
country in all her interests ; that we were not in the simple
and natural position of ei country without debt, with an im-
mense quantity of vacant land, without incumbrance of any
kind ; but that we were incumbered with a debt, the interest
of which as honest men we were bound to pay (hear,) where
the prices of everything were ruled artificially by the taxes
we paid, and the comforts we expected to enjoy ; and we could
not, under these circumstances, place ourselves in fair and
equal competition with countries where the peasantry were
content to sustain life upon black bread—(great cheering)—
where the taxes were lighter, and where they had no national
debt. (Applause.) We must all hang together ; we were in
an artificial condition. It would not do for one portion of
the community to relieve itself from heavy pressure by ruin-
ing another portion which occupied two-thirds of the pro-
ductive interests. (Hear.) What would be the effect if we
were to sacrifice the great agricultural interest of the coun-
try to the call of the manufacturing interest ? It would be,
after all, to sacrifice all our own best customers. (Hear,
hear.) It had been calculated by Mr. Muntz, no particular
friend of :the agricultural interest, that two-thirds of the
manufacturing interests were engaged in supplying the wants
of the agricultural interest. (Hear.) We were, therefore,
called upon to throw these regular and settled customers
overboard, who always must be our best customers, who paid
our own price, and for what ? For the chance of securing
foreign customers who told us they preferred, though at a
higher price, goods of their own manufacture, and communi-
cations with whom might be interrupted by war, and would
certainly be interrupted continually by changes of commer-
cial policy. (Loud cheers.) We were in fast called upon to
sacrifice this great certainty for all the uncertainty which at-
tended and followed foreign commerce. (Cheers.) He was
not, of course, going to undervalue foreign commerce. It
was an important branch of our industry, and not to be neg-
lected; but at the same time all he begged to say was, "for
the sake of this foreign commerce do not neglect, bind, or
destroy those still greater interests which are at your own
door.' (Great cheering.) The meeting had been told by
the worthy chairman that they were to have two candidates
to compete with at the election. We certainly knew of one
who was a candidate of flesh and blood, whom most had seen
and many handled ; as to the other candidate, whether he
came forward or not, or whether when he came forward he
would solicit he suffrages of. the constituency or not, but se-
cure for himself a safe retreat elsewhere for a borough he
(Lord Sandon) once had the honour to represent, he left
them to judge. (Hear, hear.) Whether'that noble lord
had any peculiar claims upon, a commercial constituency like
this he (Lord Sandon) did not know ; all he knew was
that he had bad much more occasion to go with deputa-
tions from this town, to complain of his neglect of
our commercial interests than of his attention to them.
(Loud applause.) All he knew was•that he had waited upon
him with deputations from this town concerning his neglect
of our Mexican and Buenos Ayrean trade, his neglect in ne-
gociating a commercial treaty with one or two of the transatlan-
tic states, and his neglect, of the settlement of the boundary•
question with the United States, which for so many years
had put into peril the greatest foreign trade of which this
town was possessed; all he knaw was that by his (Lord Pal-
merston's) neglect of the eastern question, he had allowed us
to come into imminent peril of war, and put into jeopardy all
those great interests which depended upon the continuance
of peace. (Cheers.) He (Lord Sandon) did not wish to in-
trude much longer upon the attention of the meeting ; they
were aware there would be a tolerably numerous meeting on
Monday in the Amphitheatre, which was capable of holding
from 3000 to 5000 persons. He would conclude with saying
blown at the last moment, to blind them with regard to the
he was sure that they would not permit this ministerial bubble,
real, permanent, substantial interests they had to support in
this election. Would it be any consolation to them, if by
chance they should think he was wrong about fixed duties or
fluctuating duties, that they should have been able to place
in power, or retain in power, an administration not only as
radical as that which we had, but infinitely more radical—
which would owe its power to agitation of the most mis-
chievous and revolutionary kind ? (Cheers.) Would it be
any consolation to them to fix in power an administration
which had attacked the church—(hear, hear)—which had no
power of protecting the prerogatives of the crown—(hear,
hear)—which was weak and wavering, unprincipled and un-
steady, and totally devoid of all those qualities which could
secure confidence from any class? (Hear, hear, and
cheers.) The remarkable thing about this administration
was this, that, though they had long reigned, they had gained
no one party whatever. (Hear, hear.) To begin with the
lowest, had they any confidence among the chartists? None
whatever; the chartists said they had been deluded by this
government into illegal acts, and then thrown into prison.
(Hear, hear.) Had they the confidence of the radicals?
loo; the radicals despised them; the radicals held them in
the greatest contempt. and told them day by day that they
only voted for them and against Sir Robert Peel, because
they were the roost squeezable. (Cheers.) Had they the
confidence of the whig gentlemen ? No ; the whig gentlemen
were retiring from parliament disgusted with the measures of
a government to which they had been bound. (Hear, hear.)
Had they secured the confidence of the Irish repealers ? No!
(Hear, hear.) Had not Mr. O'Connell told'them time after
time that he kept them in office only because he could get
more from them than from the conservatives? (Hear, hear,
and cheers.) Had they the confidence of the great conser-
vative body of this country, whether of the landed gentry, or
the commercial aristocracy of our great towns, the conserva-
tive tradesmen, or of the operative conservative bodies ?
(Great cheers, and cries of " No, no.") Of no one party or
class of the constituency then had this administration the
' slightest pretensions to claim the confidence. In every
public assembly of the country called together, or wheresoever
a number of men were met, how did they contrive to gain
a hearing for her Majesty's ministers ? They all began by
saying " do not mix us up with the government ; though we
yield them respect whatever measures arc good in themselves
we will take them, for we do not care from whom they
come." In fact her Majesty's present ministers could never
gain a hearing from any party without that party disclaiming
any warranty for their character. (Hear, and cheers.)
Confidence was not a word that could be applied to them.
They had not the confidence of the people, and they had not
the confidence of the House of Commons. (Tremendous
cheeaing.) What did Mr. Canning do in a similar case?
Did he meet them with a simple negative ? No ; he came
forward in a manly spirit, and said, " you say I have not the
confidence of the Commons ; I say I have ; I will put the
question to the House of Commons, and make them vote
aye or no whether they have confidence in me, and unless
they do decide that they have confidence in me I will resign.
(Loud cheers.) Had this been the conduct of her Majesty's
ministers ? (Cries of no, no.) No ; when a motion for
want of confidence was made against them, they contented
themselves with a simple negative. (Hear, hear.) They
did not dare to ask Mr. Wakley, Mr. O'Connell, Mr.
Joseph Hume, and others who sat behind them, whether
they had confidence in them or not, because they must, if
asked such a question, have said " No," for they had said
"no" over and over again. (Hear, hear.) But these par-
ties contented themselves with merely refusing to vote for
Sir Robert Peel's motion, the government saying, " only vote
against that, and we shall not be put to the disagreeable ne-
cessity of asking wether you have confidence in us." Was
this an administration which England could be governed by ?
Was England so low and degraded as to be governed by men
who depended for support alternately, upon the throwing in
of weight Of either one side or the other, who, when they
wished to protect the prerogatives of the crown, rested upon
the support of the conservatives, and when they wanted to
curry favour with the popular party, looked for support
to the radicals or the chartists? (Hear, hear.) He was
sure the constituency of Liverpool would be anxious to se-
cure a strong, decided, and honest government—a govern-
ment above all things whose principles they could rely 'upon
(hear, hear)—a government able to support the prerogatives
of the crown—(hear)—and able also to maintain the best
interests of the country. (Cheers.) Upon such a govern-
ment they might rely for such improvements in our commer-
cial system as might be from time to time found desirable,
not like those mountebanks who offered a nostrum the mo-
ment they knew it was of no advantage to any but they who
were selling it, and whose own existence it was intended to
prolong. (Cheers.) He was exceedingly obliged to the
meeting for the kind manner in which they had received
him. It, indeed, only confirmed him in the strong impres-
sion and confidence which he had always entertained, that
the conservative feeling, which had been so long displeyed
andnlways boasted of, was the best indication of a healthy
state of mind, of the future prosperity, and of the further
advance of the country. (Loud cheers, during which the
noble lord resumed his seat.)
Mr. CRESSWELL then rose to address the meeting, and
was received with loud demonstrations cf applause. In
common, he said, with his noble friend, he hailed the auspi-
cious accident which bad brought them to the commence-
ment of their canvass this day—this day upon which we
celebrated the anniversary of that glorious event which
brought about the overthrow of the power of revolutionary
Frahce. (Cheers.) And he trusted that this very day, the
conimencement of the canvass by the conservative candidates
for the representation of this country, would be the day of
sealing the fate of the revolutionary party in this country.

(Renewed cheers.) He bailed the auspicious omen, for he
felt convinced, that if the party which had misruled the
country for the last ten years were, by the patient endurance
of the constituency, still to be allowed to retain the reins of
power for some five or ten years longer, we should be re-
duced to the lamentable condition to which republican France,
forty years ago, was reduced ; we should have to undergo
that career of misery which she suffered, and which termi-

nated in a military -despotism; and through the purification
of suffering alone could we expect to regain the station which

we had lost. (Cheers.) It was because he loved his country
" with all her faults," because he loved his country with all

her evils, because, let them call him tory, or what they would,
he was a true lover of the true liberties of his country, and
with her liberties, he trusted of her happiness—of her true

liberties—her liberty from evil as well as her liberty from
law ; it was because he loved all these that he rejoiced in
seeing before him to-day the truest and noblest presage of
the downfall of the party which would ruin his country.
(Great cheering.) They had come again to canvass for the
election of a parliament at the instance of her majesty's
ministers. (Hear.) When they appealed to the country before
using, or rather he should say, abusing the name of their
royal mistress, the Liverpool constituency had so little con-
fidence in them, that their candidates were rejected, and his

noble colleague and himself placed in the enviable position
which they still occupied. Why should it be otherwise now?
(Loud cheers.) What had her majesty's ministers done to
obtain the favour they then enjoyed not? What had they
done to recover the confidence they then had lost? (Hear,
hear.) Had they taken one step in support of those mea-
sures that we then advocated, and for which we denounced
them as enemies? (Haar.) Had they since then shown
their love for the church? had they shown their love for the

people Ask the poor law. (Tremendous cheers.) Had
they shown their love for their sovereign? Witness the
manner in which they had abused her royal name; wit-
ness the manner in which they, by their misconduct,
had brought her prerogatives into question, if not into
danger. (Great cheering.) No ; and what had they dune
for the people ? What measure had they brought forward
for their benefit ? They told the people truly " the poor
law, if you please, we will wave for the presnt, and we will
offer you what we call cheap bread." (Great cheering.)
He said it advisedly, it was what they called " cheap
bread "—not what he should call cheap bread, for so, depend
upon it, it would not long prove. (Hear, hear.) It was a
large question to discuss in a popular assembly, but there
were two or three popular points in which it might be placed,
which, he thought, would convince the meeting, that by the
proposed alterations in the corn laws, which must be ruinous
to the agricultural population, the people never could be
ultimately benefited. (Hear, hear.) What interest had he
in discussing this question with the people? Ho was not a
landlord. He did not grovel a single quarter 'of corn in a
year, but he bought a great deal. (Hear, hear.) Suppose
that for a short time an alteration in the corn laws enabled
them to buy foreign corn at a lower price than they got it
now, what would be the result? Of the six millions of
agricultural labourers now employed at.men's wages, not at
child's wages, as in the factories,—(Hear, hear, hear.)—two
millions would be thrown out of employment. What was to
be done with them? flow could they subsist? They must
go upon the pour rates; they must enjoy the blessed mercies
of a workhouse ;—(Hear, hear)—they must bring their arms
into competition with the manufacturers', and so, by multi-
plying the supply of labour beyond the demand, still further
reduce the price of it, and according to the god of these pre-
tended free traders, Mr. Huskisson, whenever that should
be brought about the rate of wages -would fall much faster
than the price of corn. (Tremendous cheering. Follow
that out and what did it come to? Throw your corn land
out of cultivation and you were dependent upon the
foreigner; the foreigner knows you must buy corn at his
price or starve. (Hear, hear.) What choice then had you?
If you can pay for it by the utmost exertions you must, be-
cause, otherwise, you must starve ; and then, instead of
paying a large price to your own landlord you will be paying
a large price to the foreigner. (Hear, hear.) What will the
foreigner do with the money when he gets it? (Hear, hear.)
Will he take manufactures instead of money? No ; if it was
a matter of fancy whether you took his corn or not, you
might say, " if I take your corn you must take my manufac-
tures ;" but he says, " no, I won't ; true it is I cannot get
the price of my corn, and so indulge in luxury, but you mar
keep your cottons and stuffs, and eat them if you can.
He warranted the belly would get the best of the argument.
(Hear, hear.) So, if the starving owner of cotton would
barter at any price, and cannot, did it not follow that our
bullion must go to pay for the corn? (Hear.) We had then
to pay for our corn in money, and would that money go to
promote the manufactures of our own country ? No ; instead
of promoting the manufactures of this country it would go to
promote the growth of manufactures abroad. (Cheers.) So
the question might be put in various ways, all equally true.
But why was it that these pelple cried out their reliance upon
Mr. Huskisson? Because Mr. Huskisson was a very wise
man. He was one of the most learned and prudent states.
men of his day in all matters relating to the trading concerns
of the country, and when they found such a man as Mr.
Huskisson promoting free trade, then, said they, " Oh, Mr.
Huskisson said so and so." (Hear.) Aye, but let us take
all that MI. Huskisson did say, not half—(hear)—let us not
go with him two steps only, and refuse to follow him a third.
(Hear, hear.) They admitted his theory as far as it suited
their purpose, but overthrew it the moment it turned against
them. (Hear.) He would ask the meeting this plain ques-
tion, which would satisfy them as to Mr. Huskisson's au-
thority. Whose colleague was he ? Was he not the colleague
of Mr. Canning ? Was he not the colleague of the Duke of
Wellington? (Cheers.) Was lie not the colleague of Sir
Robert Peel ? (Cheers.) Then why should we denounce
Sir Robert Peel and the Duke of Wellington as enemies of
free trade ? (Hear, hear, and cheers.) Why was it that the
unhappy difference arose between him and the Duke of Wel-
lington? It was upon a question, not of commercial policy,
but upon a question of internal government—the question of
reform in parliament. There they differed ; but we had the
greatest reason to suppose, that at the very moment when
that calamitous accident happened which involved all Liver-
pool in mourning, there was nothing more probable than a
complete explanation between him and the Duke of Wel-
lington. The hon. and learned gentleman, after a few fur-
ther remarks on the corn-laws proceeded to observe that
other questions had been brought forward in the same man-
ner, at the same time, and under the same circumstances,
not to be passed, not because they were sufficient to main-
tain the athninistration in power, to restore the exhausted
revenues of the country, or supply the d6ficiencies created by
improvident government, but because they thought to got up
a false excitement, under the glare of which their misdeeds
might be concealed, and they again, upon the shoulders
of the deluded people, ride into power. (llear, hear, and
cheers.) We had been told about free sugar. (Hear,
hear.) A more gross and nefarious delusion was never
attempted to be palmed upon au innocent and ignorant peo-
ple. ,When it came out that there was to be a saving what
did it amount to ? " Oh," said they, "we will give you
cheap sugar ; only think how much good Father Matthew
has done, the people have left off drinking beer, and we will
let them have cheap sugar with their tea." Now, if the bene-
fit of the people required it ; if this measure had been a good
one for the benefit of the poor, who would not have desired
to see it carried out ? But when it was seen that the utmost
benefit to be derived could be but the paltry sum of one far-
thing-and-a-half per pound, sweet, indeed, must be the
taste of those who would impose all the horrors of slavery
upon their fellow men for that! (Hear, and cheers.) Thus
we saw that this change was not, in truth, for the benefit of
the country, but a delusion which they tried to practise upon
the people, to mislead their judgment, and blind their eyes.
There was another subject which the present administration
had introduced, and that was the cry of cheap timber.
(Hear.) Cheap timber. to use the phrase of a noble lord,
addressing the constituency of the county in which we were
assembled, seemed to have slipped through a hole in the
budget ; it had been announced, but we had heard no more
of it. (Hear, hear.) The largest logs, whether from Canada
or the Baltic, slipped through the hole, which, according to
Sir Robert Peel, were of bottomless depth. Being without a
bottom they went through ; but was any one of them hardy
or impudent enough to state in the House of Commons that
would be any boon to society ? Would any one of the num-
bers before him have to pay one farthing less rent for
their houses erected with the timber which came in under
the altered defies ? (Hear.) If they had not, how would
they be benefitted ? (Hear, bear.) But how were they to
give us timber cheaper? Why by putting 10s. additional
duty upon it! (Laughter and cheers.) By putting 10s. ad-
ditional duty upon Canadian timber the people would be able
to build their houses cheaper ! (Renewed cheers and laugh-
ter.) They thought nothing of the consequences which would
result is depriving thousands of sailors of work, and throw-
ing ships out of employment. The learned gentleman con-
cluded by a most eloquent appeal to the feelings of English-
men, to elect a House of Commons which would support a
government capable by its wisdom, independence and honesty,
to carry those measures which were good, not for themselves,
but for the country at large ; we should then rejoice in the
safety, in the prosperity, and in the glory of the nation. (En-
thusiastic cheers.)
Mr. J. S. LEIGH then moved a resolution declaring that,
in the opinion of the meeting, the conduct of Lord Sandon
and Mr. Cresswell, as the representatives of this borough,
had been highly satisfactory, and justly entitled them to a
renewal of the important trust which had been committed to
them since the 25th July, 1837.
Mr. G. H. LAWRENCE seconded the resolution in an elo-
quent and forcible address. The motion was then carried
unanimously.
Mr. JOHN SMITH moved, and Mr. BitassuY seconded, the
next resolution, which was also carried unanimously. It
was to the effect that the meeting pledged themselves indi-
vidually and collectively to use their best exertions to secure
the re-election of the present members.
On the motion of Mr. TAYLOR, seconded by Mr. M'QUIE,
a committee was formed.
Lord SANDON than moved, and Mr. CRESSWELL se-
conded, a vote of thanks to the chairman, and shortly after-
wards the meeting separated, having first given numerous
cheers for the success of the conservative cause.