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    • with propriety do so , to persuade other Governments to extend to other countries as much as possible of those civil and political blessings of which we ourselves are so proud . ( Hear , hear . ) I think , gentlemen , that the people of this country have nobly performed their part of that duty ; and I can assure you that it is the anxious desire of her Majesty ' s Government not to be backward in performing what belongs to them . ( Hear , hear . ) Ttie people of this country did nobly perform that duty in the

    course of the last year , when they supported unanimously and enthusiastically the Government of England in exerting its influence to prevent a foreign Sovereign from being compelled to violate the laws of hospitality by sacrificing the men who had thrown themselves upon him for protection . ( Cheers . ) Those efforts were successful , and I am happy to say that the last of those exiles are now on their way either to the shores of England or to the shores of the United States , according to their own choice and wishes . "

    Finally , he perorated on the African Slave-tradeand there was an end of a long speech , which may fairly be entitled—the Platitudes of Palmerston .

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    AGRICULTURAL MEETINGS . A great many agricultural meetings have been held lately . Th ^ se are signs that the agricultural mind is gradually giving up protection . By some they have been advised to give it up out and out . Lord Derby is silent ; Lord de Tabley throws protection to the ¦ winds ; Mr . Yernon Harcourt asserts , amid murmers , that the labouring classes have never been in so good a position ; and , finally , Disraeli has given perhaps the " coup de grace" to the notion altogether .

    Two meetings have been held this week deserving of notice , one of especial notice . Sir James Graham presided over the dinner of the East Cumberland Agricultural Society on Thursday week , and , as usual , said some remarkable things . They had the American reaping-machine there , which excited great attention . Sir James spoke highly of it ; said that it was an implement of great promise , that its working was not unsatisfactory , that the ground on which it had been tried was not the best which might have been chosen , and that with some improvement it would be very valuable . He recommended the farmers of Cumberland not to plough so much , and to graze more , and pointed out sheep farming as the keystone to further improvement in the district .

    " Let me remind you that in Great Britain we are in a very artificial state . These little islands are densely inhabited , and no less than £ 100 , 000 , 000 is embarked in the four textile fabrics , cotton , silk , wool , and flax . Two of these raw materials are beyond our reach . Cotton and silk we cannot produce ; but we can produce wool , and we can produce flax ; and I say it is worthy of the consideration of the agriculturists of this country to adapt their land to the growing wants of the community in which we live , and to place our country , as far as in us lies , in the situation of not being exclusively dependent for the supply of such raw materials as wool and flaxnot exclusively , I say . ( Hear , hear . )

    " Observe well , no article has gone on so steadily advancing in price as wool ; no article has paid the farmer so well in the shape of produce as wool , and the sheep which produce the wool are , in my opinion , under proper management , the keystone of the impr . oved cultivation of the soil . ( Hear , hear . ) But , observe further , if you have the smaller quantity of land under cultivation , producing with that smaller quantity a larger amount of produce , the saving is immense in the wages of labour and the cost of production , and in everything which bears on the profits oh the outlay of capital in cultivation . 1 say , therefore , farm highly the small quantity of land you have under the plough—encourage the growth of grass laid down on the best order of land well cleaned , add to the number of your sheep , and increase the quantity of your wool . "

    Referring to flax , he explained the difficulties attending itb culture us u raw material for manufacturing into linen , and the proceris of preparing the flax for the manufacturer , he said : — " If I have made myBelf intelligible , it in plain that the straw cannot be conveyed to a great distance to undergo this process , and that the manufacturer must be brought to the door of the furrner . ( Hear , hear . ) Such is the enterprise , the nkill , and 1 would almost say the patriotism of the manufacturing interest of this country - —not without reference to gain , but combined with gain , which is the real incentive of all improvement—that if you can allow that any such process will pay the uiunutacturer , that munufucturer of the raw material will establish a mill in the neighbourhood ; and I hold it to be one of the duties of landlords to ascertain whether

    this mode of dialing with flux be not . feasible , and , if it be feasible , to muke an effort to introduce in their neighbourhood the machinery and the manufacture requisite for the extended growth of ho important and useful a crop as flux . ( Cheers . ) This in tediouw , but sti'l these are matters of great iinportuucc—matters bound up with our present welfare , and with the future prosperity and happiness of the # rt ' community of which we form a part . ( Hear hear . ) I am amoug the first to admit Mint the basis of our national prosperity in the produce of the soil . ( Loud cheers . ) If it were not no 1 should be poor indeed , for all 1 ponseHH in in land , and in land of thin county ' - you , therefore , have the utmost pledge of my Bincerity and my wit . li to promote the welfare of the BKriculturc of this county —( Amir , hear ) but . you must have it in u manner coincident with the welfare- of tho community ; and these are the objects and these the moden in which to attain that end . Societies of this kind appear to m « to huvo that tendency , and I WM delighted

    to hear a sentiment which fell from you , Mr . Vice-Chairman . ( Cheers . ) You said you did not despair of the prosperity of the agricultural interest . ( Cneersj You said that agriculturists must meet increased difficulties with increased exertions . ( Cheers . ) You added that Heaven always favours those who help themselves , and that the agricultural interest would not be the last interest to make the requisite exertion . ( Chetrs . ) It is only necessary that that exertion should be well directed . It is the duty of landlords to lead the way in respect to all these improvements and experiments ; the landlords of England must not be left behind in the race of exertion , and , if w ^ fee a united body , then I say—* « " Nought shall make us rue , If England to itself do rest but true . ' ( Loud cheers . )"

    The other meeting alluded to was that of the Vale of Evesham Agricultural Association . Over this meeting Mr . Hanford , a Roman Catholic landlord , presided . Captain Rushout , M . P ., rejoiced that the agriculturists had " by no means lost their wonted energy , " and that they " had not taken the advice given them , to throw their lands out of cultivation , and discharge their labourers . On the contrary , he thought they had displayed more energy than ever ,

    and farmed fully as high and well as ever . " Mr . Foley , M . P ., thought they attached too much importance to the price of corn , and to its being kept up to a certain standard , and did not think sufficiently of the cost , quantity , and quality of other sorts of produce . Mr . Robert Woodward , a " stranger , " and high Protectionist , brought down from Liverpool , said , that to see what they were doing , " in these times , " was almost enough to make a professed Protectionist sceptical in his views : —

    " From what he saw , he thought they paid a little too much importance in this part of the country to the growth of wheat , and not enough to other things . They still got a good price for their mutton and the produce of their dairies . He thought they should put more dependence for their profits on these portions of their produce . They , no doubt , had to thank the prosperity of the manufacturing districts for the good prices they got for these articles . That the manufacturing population was in a high state of prosperity he was not ashamed to confess , because it was a fact ; and the agriculturalists immediately round the towns of Lancashire and Yorkshire got good prices for their produce . There there was little distress , but he sadly feared that in remote districts , the distress must continue . The absence of railway communication was a great bar to many districts . "

    When Mr . Woodward sat down , Mr . Gough , a tenant farmer , disappointed in his expectations , exclaimed— " Why , they told us he was an out-and-out Protectionist , and here he gives half the population in a state of prosperity ! " At a later period in the evening , the Chairman alluded to the relative position of landlord and tenant under the new system . He considered that there ought to be some principle upon which a rental might be settled fairly , and it would be most desirable to

    get at it . He regretted that the Duke of Richmond should have told the tenant farmers that under Freetrade it was impossible that they could pay any rent at all . Such a statement was the very thing to create panic and alarm . Tenant farmers , like other men , were alive to their own interests ; and if they were told that they could not afford to pay any rent , they would be likely enough to inquire why it was that they were paying any . Mr . Foley thought they should wait before settling the question to see what prices would settle at !

    In addition to the above meetings , Hertfordshire has met at Hertford . Sir lidward Bulwer Lytton was the presiding genius ; but lie studiously avoided politics . He made one suggestion worth notice . Many experiments have been made , he said , but lost for want of a proper record ; — " If , for instance , tho State were to take , at a fair rental , certain farma in different districts and with different soils , and invest in them auch capital only an a spirited farmer of good meanti may be Biippoaed to possess ; if it placed on each of these farms a good practical farmer , with a first-rate scientific chemist , for the farmer to carry out what the chemist suggested ; if there were a regular account kept , giving the minutest account , the Government being renponsible for the management of the account which should appear in the ledger-book

    of the public money ; and if these accounts were open to inspection , and published once a year , why then we should learn at least all that the science ; of chemistry in capable of accomplishing ; we should unite practical knowledge with chemical science , and obtain what we cannot get from the amateur framcr—methodical and exact accounts of the precise cost of every single experiment . And if it flliould be proved , as we are told , that large profits may be made at present prices , I say we should then , for the first time , have something like authentic facts to guide our researches and stimulate our exertionu . If , however , they should not fulfil the promises held out , and tho iitute should not be the gainer when it conn's to the current prices at Mark-lane , then at . least we should have established respect for our complaints and sympathy for our struggles . "

    One feature at tho termination of the speeches wo niniuk as u sign of the feeling in thin agricultural district on tho subject . Mr . Haggars wanted to tulk politics ; but tho Oliuirmun would not {> crmit him ; to ho turned fiercel y on tho OtuneawM : ¦—

    " He fearlessly declared tjiat the burden thrown on the county rates by the administration of the Game-laws —than which laws there could be no more fruitful source of rural depravity—required readjustment . ( t , 6 ud cheers . ) He 6 aw several magistrates for the c ountv present , and he boldly called upon them not to enforce the Game-laws with the utmost rigour , because these laws were laws which had been made by the landlords themselves and for themselves . ( Vehement cheering . )

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    GREAT REFORM MEETING AT MANCHESTER Manchester pronounced on Thursday in favour of Parliamentary Reform , at least to the length of adopting the programme of the National Parliamentary Reform Association A vast assemblage crowded the Free-trade Hall , renowned in the triumphs of the League . Mr . George Wilson , an efficient chairman of that body , presided on the occasion , and made one of his admirable speeches

    Letters of regret for non-attendance were rceceived from Mr . Cobden , Mr . Milner Gib , son , Mr . Bright , Lord Dudley Stuart , Mr . Wakley , and Mr . Hume . Four other Members of Parliament , Sir Joshua Walmsley , Mr . W . J . Fox , Mr . George Thompson , and Mr . John Williams , were present , and addressed the meeting . The proceedings went off in admirable order , and though there was no stirring enthusiasm , there was strong , steady feeling .

    Mr . George Wilson ran over the topics of the programme of the Association , illustrating them in a humourous manner . When he came to the constitution of the House of Commons , he caused great amusement by citing from Dod ' s Parliamentary Companion some facts respecting the influence of Peers in elections , ironically insinuating that he did not eay the } ever interfered : —• " He found it said of the borough of Peterborough , ' This is usually considered a borough of Lord Fitz-William ' s , ' a Whig peer . ( Laughter , and cries of Hear , hear . ' ) Surely nobody thought that these proceedings were confined to peers on one side of the House , and

    were eschewed by those on the other ? ( ' Hear , hear !' and cheers . ) Lord Fitzwilliam , a very liberal man under most circumstances , had a large interest in the borough of Peterborough , and his son , the Honourable G . W . Fitzwilliam , was returned as its representative ; but he ( the Chairman ) did not believe that Lord FiUwilliarn ' s influence had ever been exerted to return the Honourable G . W . Fitzwilliam . ( Laughter . ) Of Woodstock it was said , ' The Duke of Marlborough has influence here , ' and the Marquis of Blandford , « on of the Duke , sat for the borough ; but they were bound to believe that the Marquis of Blandford had never derived the smallest advantage from the influence or support of

    the Duke of Marlborough . ( A laugh . ) Tiun it was stated that « the Duke of Bedford has considerable influence in Tavistock '; and it was Bomewhat curious that the Honourable E S . Russell ( no relative , of course , of the Duke of Bedford ) , was one of the members for that borough . ( Cheers and laughter . ) Of Thetford it was said , 'The Duke of Grafton and Lord Ashburton have considerable influence in this borough' ; and he found that one of the members was th * Honourable F . Baring , the brother of Lord Ashburton , and the other was the Earl of Euston , eldest son of the Duke of Grafton . ( Cheers , much laughter , and a cry of * Alter % t ) But he found there was a commoner Who did a little in this way ( Laughter . ) It was eaid of the borough of Eye , < Sir E . Kerrison ' s influence in this borough is consider-General Sir

    able , ' and it so happened that Ljeutenant-E . Kerrieon sat for the borough . ( Great latighter . ) In the borough of Arundel the Duke of Norfolk , it was aUted , had considerable influence , » nd it seemed that some votes had been given by the Earl of Arundel and Surrey , the late member for Arundel , at variance with the opinions of the Duke , and , curiously enough , the Earl of Arundel had resigned the representation of Arundei . and Had obtained another seat . ( Cheers and laughter . ) tie ( the chairman ) did not mean to say that the resignation took place under instructions from the Duke of Norfolk , though some people had said bo . ( Renewed laughter . ) ' Mr . Neeld , ' it was said , ' has considerable influence in Chippcnham , ' and Mr . Joseph Neeld and hiB brother-inlaw , sat as members for that borough . ( Hear , hear . ) Of Chichester it was stated , ' The interest of the Duke of

    Richmond preponderates in thiB borough , and , althougli they had heard a gruat deal of the Duke , very few of them might be aware that Lord Henry ( J . C . Gordon Lennox , son of the Duke , was the sitting member for Chichcater . ( Laughter . ) Of the borough ol Dudley it waasaid , ' The prevailing influence is that of Lord Ward , ' and Mr . J . Benbow , steward to Lord Ward , sat for tho borough . ( ' Hear' and laughter . ) Sir Joshua Wulmsley said that the theory of the Constitution was , thut tho House of Commons represented tho people ; while it was notorious it did no such thing . Their watchword should henceforth be , " The Constitution , the whole Constitution , and nothing but the Constitution . " ( Cheers . ) He recommended that the table of the House should bo covered with petitions .

    Tho appearance oi Mr . W . J . Fox elicited qnthu-Hiustic cheers . U « m » do tt very telling speech ; aiiU though necessarily lie went over tho old ground , l » o noon raised merry luughtor at the expense of tiio Minister : — "If Mr . Hume , Mr . Gibson , Mr . Bright , and other members needed a change of air , how much must Lord J llutuicU i ^ ed it ? ( CA « w « and laughter . ) He wished Lord J . Kussell was there to enjoy It . ( A faugh . ) J" « would find the atmosphere of thfrt meeting very a »«> rent

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• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 27, 1851, page 912, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1902/page/4/