Year: 1877

The residence of the Right Hon. W. E


Gladstone, Hawarden Castle, near Ches-
ter, was on Saturday visited by the men,
bers of the Bolton Liberal Association
and their friends, the party numbering
about one thousand four hundred. The
Ex-Premier at once granted them per-
mission to roam through the splendid
grounds, but to the further request that
he would address this large company of
Lancashire admirers he at first gave a
decided refusal Then the committee
who had the excursion in hand pressed
him to at least show himself, and at last,
after some hesitation, he said he and his
son (Mr. w. FL. Gladstone, NJ. p for
Whitby) were, in the course of the after
noon, going out to fell tree in the park,
and he would then respond to any vote of
thanks which might be accorded him.
With this assurance the Bolton Liberals
were content, and the hall was anxiously
watched by attentive scouts for the
egress of the right honorable gentleman
and his son. A little after four o'clock
Mr.. Gladstone and his son came from
the hall, clad in rough working suits,
with slouch hats, and AK in hand, pro-
ceeded to distant portion of the park;
and, the scouts having given the signal
to the main body of eXcursionists, the
woodmen were followed by large num-
bers of people. A halt was made under
huge ash tree of certainly not less than
fifteen feet in circumference at the base
of the trunk, and father and son set to
work in earnest in the presence of more
spectators than ever before saw tree
felled, certainly on the demesne of
Hawarden Castle. Before beginning off
went hat, coat and neckerchief, till they
had on only check shirts and rough light
pants, and as the chips flew atthe strokes
of their axes the admiring excursionists
picked up some of the fragments and
carefully treasured them as mementoes
of their visit. As some relief to the
monotony of waiting, the excursionists
sang several glees, which served as ac-
compartments to the thuds of the axes,
and, as the ex-Premier paused to breathe
awhile, crowds gathered round him with
a view to shaking hands. Like a gallant
man; Mr.. Gladstone granted the favor
to the ladies of the company, but sternly
refused it to the male sex, who had to
content themselves with lusty cheers at
intervals. The enthusiasm was intense,
and when the right honorable gentleman
leant on his AK to wipe away the perspira-
ton from his brow, his scanty hair wav-
ing in the breeze, and in the fore and
back ground a splendid landscape of
woodland, the scene would have made
picture. In one of the pauses the right
honorable gentleman complimented the
excursionists on their excellent singing,
which, he said, was not remarkable, see
ing that Lancashire people were re-
nowned for their musical ability; and
later on, when perceptible inroad had
been made into the trunk, two of the
leading excursionists took the Op-
portunity to propose and second vote of
thanks to the right honorable gentleman
and Mrs. Gladstone for their kindness
in allowing the use of the park, and
for favoring them with their presence.


The vote was carried amid loud cheer
ing.


Mr.. Gladstone, leaning on his ak,
acknowledged the compliment, and ex-
pressed his pleasure at seeing so many
friends present enjoying the fresh air
and the scenery of the park, as his wife
and son had enjoyed them from their in
fancy, and he himself for half his life.
The right honorable gentleman then
continued: l hope some of you will
live to see the time when there will not
be such a complete contrast between
manufacturing towns and the country as
there is now