Liverpool Meeting In Supp...
The Times, 1824-02-20T00:00:00

On Saturday a meeting was held at Liverpool, " to consider the best means of assisting the Greeks, in their present imnportant strug- gle for independence." The place of meetinz wvas the court-room in the Town-hall_the chairman was the Chief-Magistrate oftheplace- the haUl was crowded to excess withl the friends of the cause-and the most eminent individuals for wealth or talents i; Liverpool and its vicinity participated in the business of the day. But the meet. ing has another claim to our attention which few political meetings possess-it comiprised men of all parties, it called fortl the eloquence of the known champions of the most conflictingz political sect-, and yet gave birth to no difetrence of opinion. The adhe- rents of the Mtinistry anti the supporters of rotten boroughs joined with thie partisans of the Whie opposition, and the friends of radical reform, in an unqualified condemnation of Tnrkish despo- tisnm, in a generous defence of the principles, and encouragement of the e borts, of the struggling Greelfs. Perhaps no meeting on any one sibjecct ever more completely represented the sense and fre dlnns of nl classesofinhabitants intlhatrichlandpopulous town. When the Mayor had taken the chair and introduced the business of the day, blr. Gla4stone, the fiend of Mr. Canniing, and the ministerial memnber for Woodstock, addressed the meeting, and proposed the first resol]tion. He was followed, among others, by | Colonel Williams, whose opposition to the AMinistry is lknown I wherever any thing ia heard of Lancashire polities. and the Rev iMtr. Shepherd, who is not less distinguished for his spirited con- duct at the elections and public mePtings of Liverpool, than for his successj'mul cultivation of Italian literature. We mcntion these circumsLhnces, because we believe this is the first meeting for this great political object, at which the local authority presided, and which the parliamentary friends of Ministers attended: and be-] cause we hope by the praiseworthy example of Liverpool to encourage other towvns and districts to a similar unanimous expression of feeling. The sum subscribed was considerable, but the sentiments announced by the speakers,avd embodied in the resolutions of the meeting,were of more importance than the suscription, as the applauses of the ring are sometimes more cheering to the combatant than the purse col- lected for his behoof. In the case of the Greeks we happily hear none of those haclkneyeiphrases about the necessity of discouragingr rebellion, the claims of Tegitimate depotism, br the danger of indlivi- dual interference where Government hasdeclared for a neutral policy, which divided and paralysed our efforts last year in support ofSpain ag inst her cmrel invaders. The Turk is just about too bad to be de- fended, and too distant to be feared. He has no spies in England to watch the conduct of our parties, or to intercept the transmission of our aid to his enealies.our merchlants are not afraid of the fleetof the Capitan Pacha, and our Ministers dread no remonstrance from the Reis Effendi for subscribinz money or sending arms to maintain the struggle in dhe East. ilr. Gladstone and the other friends of MSinis- ters may therefore give a vent to their feelings and their liberality at the sarne time, without any fear of compromising the Govern- nment, which, to uase a somewbat Irish idiom of the honourable member, had determined " to take no part in the contest but that of strict uttzetrality." The foUowing justification of the policy of England in not interfering directiy in the quarrel between the Greeks and the Turks, derives considerable im. poltance frelli the manner in whiclh it gpeaks of a. third Power, andi the quarter whence it conies. " It was well known, how great and almnost overwhelming was the power of Russia. It was also weU kno,vn, that a lostile feeling towards the interests of this country had manifested itself in the Russian Cabinet, arising, diere was reason to believe, from ajealousy of our commercial greatness and the extent of ousr resources. UInder the relative circum- stances of the two countries, it had been the policy of England to hold xp Turkey in opposition to Russia-not to maintain the former in hostility to the latter, but to support Turkey aS a power necessary to serve as a counterpoise to the growing conse- quence of Russia, and to counteract her intlueace in the affairs of Europe. Uere England, therefore, to take an active part in the concerns of Greece, thc consequence would be the letting loose of Russia on Turkey; tor she could not >aist Greece witbout eom- [mitting an act of hostility against Turkey; ind, having done so, how could she object to Russia becoming a.party to the contest also ? The only means, thevefore, which Englismen possessed of aiding thle Greeks WS by individual subscriptions, and by individual ex- pressions of the sentiments they might entertain of this great and momentous struggle. We have left osrasives no room for quoting anv of the strong ap- peals made to the hearts of Englishmen by Mr. 'Gladstone, Mr. Shepherd, or any of the other speakers. 'About 1SOI. wvas subscrib- ed before the meeting separated. LIVERPOOL MEETING I.V SUPPORT OF THE GREEK CAUISE.