The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-10-30 00:00:00

MEETING OF THE CONSERVATIVE BURGESSES
OF SCOTLAND WARD.
The Conservative burgesses of Scotland ward held a public
meeting on Wednesday evening, at Mrs. Muskers, in Bur-
lington-street, for the purpose of meeting Mr. Thomas Mur-
ray Gladstone, and for taking measures to secure his return
to the council at the municipal election on Monday next.
On the motion of Mr. ISAAC HOLMES, seconded by Mr.
HILL, Mr. HENRY TAYLOR was called to the chair, and he
opened the proceedings with a few appropriate observations.
Mr. BIRKETT rose to move the first resolution. It was
not his duty he said to introduce a new candidate, but to call
upon the conservative burgesses for an expression of their
sense of the services of their two conservative representatives.
When they considered the assiduity with which those 'mem-
bers had attended to their duties, and the zeal and industry
they had brought into exercise, he was sure the meeting would
would not hesitate to pass the following resolution—" That
the thanks of this meeting are due to the conservative mem-
bers of this ward for their votes and exertions in the council,
in endeavouring to promote the interests and welfare of the
town." (Applause.) He trusted he should not be consi-
dered as travelling out of the record, if he expressed a hope
that, although two and one now only made one in the coun-
cil, the conservative burgesses would show, that after Monday
next two and one made three. (Cheers.)
Mr. HILL seconded the motion, and it was unanimously
carried. _ _ . _

Mr. ISAAC HOLMES returned thanks on behalf of himself
and of his colleague, Mr. Houghton. Two years had now
passed since he had been introduced to the notice of the
conservative burgesses of Scotland ward. At that time they
had but a very few days to secure his return, but they ac-
complished the object effectually and most triumphantly.
They had now before them as a candidate, a gentleman of
talents superior to his, one who was well known to the town,
and who would do honour to their choice if they returned
him. (Cheers..) When he (Mr. Holmes) first came for-
ward in this ward, the radicals boasted that he had not the
least chance of success, but to their cost they found that
they had counted without their host ; they were then shown
that Conservative principles were triumphant in Scotland
ward, and he trusted that at the ensuing election they would
again find that this ward was truly conservative. (Cheers.)
They were told at that time by Mr. Blackburn, whose
isrotoge Mr. Lacon was, " that the principles of reform must
be vindicated in Scotland ward, for a person had most auda-
ciously come forward to oppose these principles." The
principle of reform, he said, was then at stake. The princi-
ple of deception was undoubtedly at stake, but a far better
principle—one that was good in practice—was triumph-
ant—(hear, hear)—and he had every reason to expect that it
would be triumphant again. (Cheers. After some further
observations upon the proceedings of the radical faction, in
the course of which several leading members thereof received
a severe castigation, Mr. Holmes concluded by an energetic
call upon the burgesses to spare no effort to secure the re-
turn of Mr. Gladstone.
Mr. J. N. HOLME, after expressing his conviction that
Mr. Gladstone would be returned, not by a majority of forty
as was Mr. Houghton, but with one of fifty, moved the second
resolution—" That this meeting, considering that the interest
of this ward would be promoted by the return of Mr. Murray
Gladstone, presents its sincere thanks to that gentleman for
coming forward as a candidate ut the next election." (Cheers)
Mr. TISDALE, in seconding the motion, said, that in all
elections it was absolutely necessary for the burgesses to
come forward early. If they adopted this advice, they would
be able to take the lead at first, keep it, and win. (Cheers.)
Mr. Sissesosr said he could bear his testimony to the
qualifications of Mr. Gladstone for a member of the town
council, having had him as a colleague on a public board of
some importance. The burgesses cc uld not have selected a
better man for zeal, talent, and honesty. (Loud cheers.)
Mr. GLADSTONE was then called for, and his appearance
elicited deafening applause. He should he unfeeling indeed,
he said, if he were not perfectly sensible of the kindness with
which his humble name had been received, and he wished he
had words to express his thanks for the compliment which
had been paid him. He feared the eulogiums which had just
been passed on him were far beyond his deserts, but he should
endeavour, if he should have the good fortune to be placed in
a position of trial, to realise, by his best exertions, the full
extent of those eulogiums. (Hear, and cheers.) They were
now on the eve of a great and glorious trial • and now that
they had put their shoulders to the wheel, they ought not to
draw back. If they did their duty individually and collec-
tively he had no doubt but the evening of Monday next
would be an evening of rejoicing, and he could assure them
that if he should have the honour to be their representative,
he should feel that he occupied a most gratifying position.
(Renewed cheers.) He was glad to find that the nature and
results of his canvass as far as it had been undertaken, were
highly encouraging. (Hear.) He had been himself in some
districts, and had met with the warmest reception. (Hear.)
He had been well received even by those opposed to him—
(hear)—he would not call them enemies, because he
hoped he had no enemies. (Hear, hear.) He trusted
that whether the election should be successful or unsuccessful
to him in the result, he should have made no enemies, for he
had none but feelings of the greatest kindness towards all,
and those feelings he trusted he should ever preserve. (Hear.)
While on the subject of canvassing, he begged to avail him-
self of that opportunity to express his opinions thereon, be-
cause it appeared that some individuals who had been loudest
in their professions of attachment to the cause of reform and
retrenchment, and all those panaceas which were to do so
much service, were above soliciting the votes of the electors.
(Hear, hear.) Now he wished to express his opinions on
this point distinctly, in order that the burgesses might
know the motives which he had in going round to solicit
their suffrages. (Cheers.) He had nothing to conceal;
he had no private interest to serve ; he had no object to
promote, but the public good. He was not ashamed,
therefore, to go to every man in the ward, and express his
opinions clearly and fully, in order that the burgesses might
be satisfied whether he was qualified to become their repre-
sentative. (Cheers.) Unless they were, he for one would
not consent to become their representative at all. (Cheers.)
It was an old saving, but nevertheless true, that the man who
would put burdens on others should be ready to bear those
burdens himself. (Hear.) He considered that was a part
of the sacred trust of a representative, but there were others
who would not make themselves acquainted with those bur-
dens. Such, he thought, had no answer at all. Having now
given this answer, which he hoped would be found satisfac-
tory, he trusted he should be able to pay a personal visit to
all the burgesses of the ward prior to the 6.1 y of election.
(Hear, hear.) Since he had the honour of addressing the
electors in that room before, we had had an exhibition in this
town as unconstitutional as it could well be, in consequence
of the nature of the municipal reform act. He alluded to the
revision court. (Hear, hear.) The electors of 1840, how
had they been disfranchised ? By the lowest of paupers
being placed on the burgess list, by two men who were em-
ployed to sign objections promiscuously, and without reason.
(Hear.) If he might invoke the shades of Pitt, and Fox,
and Canning, and Huskisson, and if the spirits of those dis-
tinguished men could look down upon some of the proceed-
ings of the present day, it would be with feelings of shame.
How different were the ingredients of which our courts of
justice were formerly composed ! (Hear.) Then the judge
was impartial, the principles by which the court was governed
independent, and the jury impartial • but in this case we had
a judge who was a most active partizan, and the jury were
also partizans ; and whereas the principle heretofore was,
that a man should be considered innocent until he was found
guilty, the principle now was, that a man should be consi-
dered guilty till he had proved his innocence. (Cheers.)
That was the constitution of the revision court. The very
materials had the elements of dissolution in themselves ;
(cheers)—he believed they were constituted by designing
men ; they were produced in deformity, and they ought to be
consigned to the evil one. (Cheers.) The next point de-
serving of attention was the important measures which affect
the town, and which ought to be the leading principles by
which to judge of the fitness of any candidate. The first of
these points was the question of education, and the second
the improvements in the dock estate and town at large. With
respect to the former, he looked at it thus—he dissented most
distinctly and decidedly from the system of education pur-
sued in the corporation schools. (Vehement applause.)
They told the people the' Bible was to be found in. those
schools ' • but how was it to be found there? Why, it was on
the desks, it might be read as an infidel would read a romance ;
but were the precepts and practices declared in the Bible the
first principle in which the children were instructed? Cer-
tainly not ; and consequently, what the conservatives wanted
was, not that it should be there as a fable or an interdicted
work, but that the very first principle should be to make the
children acquainted with their Bibles. (Loud cheers.) What
did that book teach us but our duty to God, to our king, our
country, and our neighbour? (Hear.) What higher ground
could we take than that in this book? (Hear.) He cared
not where they sought for their moral theology, so long as that
book which contained the sentiments of our Saviour, where
he says, " Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid
them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven," was the
fundamental principle of their instruction. He repeated it,
that this was the first lesson that should be taught to the
masters of the schools, and that the instruction thus emana-
ting from that source should be the instruction given to the
children. (Applause.)_ Lord Stanley the other day clearly
put the question. He said that in the course to be pursued
by churchmen there could be no mistake, because, as he justly
observed, the church is Christian, she draws her rules of
faith and love from the Bible, and, consequently, only one
course can be taken by churchmen, namely, that they should
support that education which inculcated those sentiments
which she held in the highest veneration. Hear, and cheers.)
He (Mr. Gladstone) fully and cordially agreed with this sen-
timent, and he would further say he could not consider that
this system of educatton would give satisfaction to any class.
Although it might conciliate the infidel, the Socinian, and the
atheist, when we found that only one man among the clergy
of Liverpool could be a Judas and receive his reward, not
only his (Mr. Gladstone's) conviction supported him, but
he was supported by the argument, the learning, and the dis-
tinguished of the world. (Cheers.) The next point to which
he would refer was the warehouse question, and the improve-
ment of the town. (Hear, hear.) From the nature of the
dock trust and its strong bonds and connection with the cor-
poration—an union as extraordinary as any union could be—
indeed they were joined by closer ties than were man and
wife—it was impossible to divorce them ; but, at the same
time, as it was a natural connection, he thought the conser-
vatives could not watch too closely the great grasp of power
by a popular body such as this, lest it should increase to
such a degree that no individual would be safe in his own in-
terests. He was aware that private interests must give way
to pnblic good. This was a proposition that no one could
deny; but if hefound that that which was assumed to be done for
the public good was done for the sake of obtaining patronage
and power, and that the power was being bound more strongly
in their hands than by bonds of iron, he would consider it
high time that those bonds should be slackened ; that the de-
tail and management of those great trusts should be taken
out of their hands, and that a more controlling influence
should be placed over those estates. He had stated, at a
former meeting, that a purchase of land from the corporation
by the dock trust was merely taking money out of the right
hand pocket and putting it into the left : it was taking from
the estate of the burgesses to add to the estate of the bond-
holders, at a price not more than half the value of the land,
if offered to public competition. It was for the meeting to
consider whether persons holding his (Mr. Gladstone's)
principles were fit to represent them in the council. He
used no clap-traps ; he did not cry out for liberality ;
he did not go into matters out of his line ; he did not
try to persuade them by. smooth words, but by facts, and he
was sure he was not mistaken. in the judgment of English-
men. He had referred before to modern legislation ; but if
he went from local politics, it was no matter of surprise to
find the members of the House of Commons defending illegal
privileges ; and to find that intrigue in the court bad pros-
trated that flower of beauty and innocence, Lady Flora
Hastings ; that Sir James Clark was still retained within
the precincts of the palace. and that Lord Melbourne—but
of him he would say nothing. (A voice, " Oh, we know
him too well ourselves.") He did not wonder, therefore,
that these crudities in the reform bill should appear, when
we found the heads of the people acting in so extraordinary a
manner, both in the highestcircles, and in the house of the repre-
sentatives of the people. His friend, Mr. Isaac Holmes, whose
experience in the council was considerable, would tell them
more of the proceedings of that body than he could pretend to
do. But they all saw enough in the newspaper reports to
convince them that reform and retrenchment were vastly
different from what they had been led to expect. There they
saw language used which was unfit for gentlemany ears, and
that econcomy was altogether avoided. He trusted that their
exertions this year and the next would enable them to be
in a position to choose the aldermen ; and he could as-
sure them, that he would, if returned, have nothing to guide
him in his selection on that occasion but the qualifications of
the respective parties. He thanked them for the patience
with whieh they had heard him, and he had only to add, that
if any questions were now asked him, he would be ready to
answer it. Mr. Gladstone then resumed his seat amidst loud

cheering.
Mr. Moiuus proposed the next resolution—" That every