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Leader (1850-1860), 3rd December 1859, Edition 1 of 2, Page 1312, Hanr^ U3UJ8 —_*— .

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      Untitled Article

      POLITICAL FORBSHADOWESTGS . A bREAr liberal demonstration took place on Thursday evening at Liverpool in the Philharmonic Hall , the object being the presentation of an address to Qeneral Thompson , and Messrs . Cobden and Bright , Neither General Thompson nor Mr . Gobden were present . ( The latter is detained in Paris by illness ) . , A letter from Mr . Cobdbx , which -was read , contains the following remarks upon the invasion rumours which are so prevalent : — " What means this periodical visitation , which , like the cholera or some other infectious disease , has , every two or three since 1847 caused the panic cry of a _

      years , French invasion to overspread England , and which at the present moment is heard again in tones as loud and menacing as ever ? Whence springs the idea of danger which pervades the public mind at home ? I attribute it mainly to the want of intercommunication , and the consequent ignorance and prejudice which prevail respecting the character and designs of our nearest continental neighbour ? Here are two of the greatest nations , separated only by the narrowest strip of ocean , with their distinct and proud annals , their rival traditions , their differences in race , lnnguage . and religion , all tending to produce alienation . But , down almost to the present daythe Governments of the two countries

      , have devoted their energies to the task of preventing , as far as possible , any commercial Intercourse between them . The baneful' consequences are naturally suc-h as we behold , let us hope that legislators will awaken to a sense of the responsibility which attaches to those who thus array themselves against the obvious la . ws of the Creator . " Mr . Bbight returned his thanks for the friendship and respect expressed towards him and the other two gentlemen in the address ; and after some laudatory remarks upon the objects of the Financial Reform Association , said : — " The landed gentry were generally the last to learn anything ? They ¦ were the last to learn the jastice and necessity of

      the repeal of the corn laws , although no class had derived greater benefit from that measure than themselves . He anticipated results almost as great and beneficial when the programme of the Financial Association was carried into effect . He had lately been much attacked by the press . He would detain them for a short time by reviewing a few of these newspaper articles , and he hoped to show them -what bad political economy these professed leaders of public opinion sometimes indulged in . Mr . Bright then read passages from the Times , the Spectator , and the Economist , and proceeded to refute the assertions made . He . next adverted to the consumption of the people , in order to show the relative proportions of

      taxation . The revenue from the excise was about £ 42 , 000 , 000 , and it had been thus divided by a competent official authority . The upper classes paid JE 7 , 3 SO , 000 ; the middle classes , £ 15 , 960 , 000 ; and the lower classes , £ 18 , 690 , 000 . During the last twenty years the consumption of sugar , tea , coffee , corn , cattle , and tobacco , had very nearly doubled , and by whom , lie would like to know , had this vast increase of commodities been consumed ? Unquestionably , by the middle and lower classes . At this hour 24 , 000 , 000 of people in this country live in houses of less rental than . £ 10 per annum , and only 6 , 000 , 000 live in houses of a higher rental than £ 10 . The conclusion , then , to be

      drawn from all these facts was , that the revenue produced by taxation upon the ordinary articles of consumption falls heaviest upon the industrious classes . Ho lived in the midst of a manufacturing district , and ho knew something of the life of the labouring man . Although . this was , a time © f unusual prosperity , the life of a , labouring ; man wasone ot peculiar hardahip and difficulty . labouring men have to maintain an incessant struggle to keep themselves from , what they dread so much—the workhouse . Their life is precarious , and on tho average , not of long duration . He appealed to , tho middle classos of the country to band together to relievo tho labouring classes from their heavy

      burdens , and to abolish a system which weighs so heavily upon the groat m ' asa of our fbllow-countrymon . Well , then , how boat can we meet tho difficulty ? He would propose a tax of 8 a . per £ 100 upon the whole property in the country belonging to persons having X 100 per annum or more This would produce about £ 27 , 000 , 000 por annum . If this tax were adopted , wo could abolish tho duties on sugar , tea , coffee , Insurance , carriages , arid a groat variety of articles . Such a moaauro would immediately Increase tho trade of ( he nation , and spread happiness ftnd contentment amongst tho great industrious population , whilst at tho sun > e time tho tax would not weigh heavil y upon those classos who would have to pay it . As regards tho dut' s on tobacco

      and spirits , they produce about £ 18 , 000 , 000 , and he would hot propose their abolition , at least not for the present . The largest proportions of these , which come from tobacco and spirits , are paid by the lower classes and we . may fairly leave this proportion of the national revenue to be paid by them , whilsfrvthe upper and middle classes ought willingly to burden themselves with the remaining taxation required by the Chancellor of the Exchequer . Mr . Bright then referred at considerable length to the legacy duty on personal property , the probate duty , and the succession tax of 1856 , which last he denounced as a shame and a disgrace . The poor , he said , were taxed excessively to spare the rich , and all classes are taxed excessively to spare tire proprietor of the soil . He would give his explanation of this state of things in a t ' evr words . The Parliament which levies the taxation is a Parliament

      of the rich , and the majority of the members belong to the landed proprietors . What is the remedy ? We may either have an agitation extending over some years , rousing the country to indignation , and perhaps to . thu brink of insurrection , or we may have a measure of parliamentary reform which will change the character of the legislation . The monopolists of power dread the extension of the franchise . The existence of the present cabinet , however , depends upon the courage and honesty with which it deals with this important and unavoidable question : the very future of their party depends

      upon it . For himself , though he was reviled by the masked conspirators who write the leading articles of the morning and weekly journals —( great cheering)—he should continue to demand what he considered to be a wise , just , and comprehensive measure of parliamentary reform . He warned the monopolists of power that , if they refused justice to the unrepresented twenty-four millions , they would assuredly be asked in a sterner voice , and with a ruder hand than his , should their just demands be refused , which demands would ultimately be surrendered in . terror and humiliation , for they only asked what reason and justice had long asked

      in vain . At Bath on Tuesday Mr . Roebuck , MR , and Mr . Tite , M . P ., addressed a large assembly of the liberal

      interest . Mr . Tite said : " With regard to bribery there was no remedy for it but the ballot , for if a man does not know what he buys and pays for he will cease to bribe . With regard to a Congress , he believed the ministry were sincere ; and he was . pleased to hear that Lord John Russell stated at Aberdeen that he would join no congress that did not give the people of Italy the liberty to judge and act for themselves . On that principle he hoped and believed the cabinet would act , and act firmly and sincerely . "

      . Mr . Roebuck said , " I ask you if we need fqar a Reform Bill ? Taking the past effect for twenty-seven years of Lord John Russell ' s first Reform Bill , I ask why need we fear to extend his liberality , nnd to take into the bosom of the constitution the large masses of the working classes ? I mean to ask lor , and by loudly asking for we shall obtain , a complete reform of the representation , of . this country ; and when I see around me the large mass of the working classes , and know their intelligence , and their hardheaded good sense , their honesty , and their uprightness , I ask myself , What have I to fear ? But I am told that the working men have given evidence by their late conduct that they are totally unfit to mistake

      elect their legislators . Is that so ? Is Ot in political economy to unfit a class to be represented ? If so , how did it come that the landed gentry of the country were , until tho year 1832 , the rulers of this country ? Almost at the sword's point we carried the Reform Bill . By rising up as one man we carried the reform of the corn laws . In spite of these landed gentry , these bad political . economists , wo had tho franchise , Well , then , I sny , g-jvo to tho people of England , give to tlfe workingclasses , tho power to . choose their -representatives . Give them the franchise . They have shown tliat tlioy possess intelligence ; they have shown that they possess honesty ; and therfO two things combined fit a man to choose representatives . It is my belief that in the coining session of Parliament we

      slia . ll not have reform . This is my candid opinion . Lknow that gentlemen differ from mo . I hope that I may bo deceived , but I believe that tho present state of Europe is such thut men who aro really not bent upon rol ' orm will take advantage of tho turmoil that will necessarily arise , and wo shall have tho whole time , or nearly the whole time * taken up by dissensions in jforojgn alOUrs , Wo havo no desire to attack anybody . England is peacoful . Her conquests aro not to be made by tho sword , or by tho bullet . Her conquests are by her mind , by her art , and by her soleneos . I say this is tho proud position of England ; and ho would boa dastard who would nob saorlfloo his life , and tho Hfo of all that Is dear to him , in ordov to maintain her greatness intact . I would say to England , and I would say to Jflngland a rulors , " Conslclor . first and foremost , tho lnterosts of

      England . Do not mix yourselves up in continental politics . " After tracing the results of the Peninsular war and the restoration of the elder branch of the Bourbons . Mr . Roebuck said , " We next acknowledged the second branch of the"Bourbon family . They were driven put of France in 1848 ; they , were received in hospitable England ; they were sheltered by her mighty ajgis ; when they put their foot upon the shores of England nobody could molest them . And what was the gratitude of these illustrious personages ? One of these illustrious exiles actually made a plan of tlie southern shores of England , pointing out where we could be attacked , and sent this plan to the Ministry of France , saying , that though an

      exile in England , he was still a child of France , and would be willing and anxious to enter into the ranks of those who would carry French principles across the Channel . ( Sensation . ) That was told me by a gentleman now dead , whose name I don't think it right to mention , and who said that he saw that letter a twelvemonth before . He told me that circumstances'had then occurred that would render it not a politic proceeding to mention it ^ at tha t time . I did not mention it , nor have I mentioned it until the present moment . . The present is the proper time , when we arc are asked to take part in a

      European Congress , and entangle England in foreign disputes , and risk again the blood and treasure of England to obtain gratitude like this . M . Montalembert may wish to keep the Pope upon his throne by English bayonets ; and other friends of Italy may wish that we drove out the three dukes by English bayonets . We should make enemies whatever course we took . We alone have a free press ; we alone have a government which represents the people ; we alone deserve the name of freemen . Shall we say that we at this time are afraid of anybody ? Not a whit of it . Afraid we are not ; but let no man dare to offend us . When they talk of

      invasion , that army that puts its foot upon England will never take its foot off ' the English soil . On Wednesday Mr . Williams , M . P ., addressed the electors of Liimbeth in his usual eloquent style , * upon the subject of his own indefatigable attendance and invaluable services in . the'House . After dilating upon the various abuses in the army and navy , and the disposition of the money voted for those forces , he said : " This was the way the publig > money was wasted . He . was anxious to maintain our navy in a state of efficiency , but however many ships we might build we could never havo an efficient navy without men , and they never would get qualified sailors for the navy in sufficient

      numbers until they put an end to flogging . That was the difficulty in manning the navy . Cease to cut the flesh from the men ' s backs and they could at any moment count on 10 , 000 sailors from the north . But as it was , notwithstanding the bounty off-red some time ago , only 1 , 500 men had entered under it . He had used his best exertions to put an end to this degrading practice , and with that viewhe had periodically moved for u return of the nnmber of eases in the army and navy , and the number of lashes inflicted in each . This had a good effect , for the Duke of Cambridge had within the last month issued a general order prohibiting flogging except for certain most atrocious crimes ,

      which were therein enumerated . If the Lords of the Admiralty would take the some course , they Arould get plenty of sailors . He held that Hogging was subversive of , rather than conducive to , good discipline . To prove this , he mentioned the fact that wlieu Lord C . Pngct cbmmnn'ded tho Princess Royal in the Baltic ho maintained that ship in a most efficient state of discipline without inflicting a single lnsh ; while Captain Giffhrd , who succeeded to tho same ship , according to the return which he had moved for , had had fifty-tyvo , men flogged , and inflicted upon them 2 , 100 lashes , llo next came to tho Reform BUK which was to be the erroat measure of tho next session . Ho did not expect

      . tho ( Jovernmont hiU would be such as would givo satisfaction to the electors of Lambeth , 'biH ho hoped it would bo such as would satisfy moderate men generally . He referred to tho loading provisions of Lord John Russell ' s bill of 1854 , ovor tho loss of which his lordship shod tears , and declared that if tho forthcoming bill wore like that , which was "to add to tho power of tho aristocracy , he would oppose it . TJUat bill did not propose to add at all to the roprosontulivo powers of tho metropolis , but divided tho scats it took from the small boroughs ,

      amongst certain oounlios and saino other borowghs , aa Bradford , which for population , rated viiluo , and registered electors , wore not to bo compared to Lnmboth . In that bill also was tlio famous minority cluusos , giving to tho . boroughs to which it proposod to give a third niombor one membor for the minority —a princlplo which in absurdity ooukl not bo surpassutl . Ho held that in any redistribution of seats tho m'osont parliamentary borough of Lamboi h should bodi vldod Into threo , and that LiunbtitUpiirisli should return two , Nowingto )! ono , and Cnmborwoll one . Uo lonouncod the £ Q rating clause , coupled wii . li tliooon-

      Untitled Article

      1312 THE LEADER . \ No . 506 . Dec . 3 , 1859 .

      Hanr^ U3uj8 —_*— .

      Hanr ^ IP ^ ujb-—~*— .

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Dec. 3, 1859, page 1312, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2323/page/4/