SCOTLAND.
Lord Brougham visited Inverness on Wednesday week. The Magistrates and a large body of the inhabitants, and the Trades Incorpo- rations, with their banners waving, went out to meet him. In the afternoon, the freedom of the town was conferred upon him, in the Northern Meeting Rooms. The Provost read an address on pre- senting the burgess-ticket; and after the ceremony was concluded, Lord prougharn addressed the meeting in the following speech, as reported in the Inverness Courier.
Ile said he could not easily express his feelings at the flattering mariner in which he had been received by so great a number of his fellow-subjects, who appeared to concur in the address of their worthy Chief Magistrate. He was conscious that it was not owing to any personal merits that he had received this mark of distinction at their hands. lirst of all, he owed it to the circumstance that he had the honour of serving a Monarch who lives in the hearts of his subjects. He had enjoyed the honour of serving that Prince for nearly four Years; and during that time he had experienced from his Majesty only one series of gracious condescension, confidence, and favour. To find that he lived in the hearts of his loyal subjects in the ancient and important capital of the Highlands, as it had afforded him only pure and unmixed satisfaction, would, he was con- &lent, bum so received by his Majesty when he told hint, as he would do by that night's post, of the gratifying circumstance. ( Cheers.) "Gentlemen," added Lord Brougham, "it was not always so in this part of his Majesty's dominions hut the people have other things now to do than consider whether this or that family should rule over them; they are quite content to live under one funnily in peace and freedom. If I have any personal claim to the honour you have done It must arise from my having taken part in certain great public questions within the last quarter of a century. I allude to Negro emancipation, to the abolition of the detestable traffic in slaves, to Reform in Parliament and in our Municipalities, and to that without which all other reforms are of no avail, the Education of the People. To these questions I have been a zealous friend, and I Will continue the same so long as life is preserved to me. In doing so, I meet with nothing but support, kindness, and assistance from the worthy and power- fal part of the community: from others I meet with nothing but revilings, mis- representation, and calumny. I cannot say that these have any effect on me, for in truth I regard them with perrect indifference. The people now thick fur themselves; and will not take opinions from others, be they priests, peers, or printers; at the same time reverencing their priests, honouring their peels, and taking every opportunity—and God knows they cannot go to a better source— of deriving information from the liberty of the press, and the fullest and most unrestrained discussion." Lord Brougham then adverted to the topics touched upon in the address read by the Provost, in all of which he heartily column-ed. One of the first measures of the next session will be, the improvement of time Municipal Corporations of England ; for Scotland is much superior in this respect to the sister country. Government will goon improving ; but they will not make one step till they are sure of the ground on which they made the former. They will not legislate rashly or unadvisedly. " I have heard, but with ...mire indifference, all the arguments brought forward against us. One set accuse us of doing too much, and anotherof doing nothing. I believe they are honest in the bulk, both one and the other. One set says we move on too slowly, that is sap!' ; and the other as pertinaciously contend we are going too fast. One set. from honest prejudices, are against all improvements, because they are satisfied with things as they are, and believe they cannot be made better. I respect them, but differ from them. Another set think we never do any thing. You open the trade to China, and you abolish slavery (which were both the work of one session) ; and yet we are told the session did nothing ! omen opinion is, that we /race done too mach, rather than too little ; though it was necessary to do justice, and lay the foundation of future good government. Less was neces- sarily done last session than the former, because if you open the trade to China one year, you do not want to open it nest. If you set the slaves free in Is:13, there are no slaves to liberate in I el is • If you reform the Court of (11,1110:Ty in one session of Parliament, the s awe task is not left to the succeeding session. Yet we have done something lately.. We have made some useful refinans is the Law ; and above all, we have carried reformation into a system which you inn Scotland are happily free from—a system mischievous in itself, and still inure mis- chievously administered—I allude to the Poor-laws. If Government had dune nothing else in ten years, it would have deserved well of the country. if zee hare date little last session, IJ ar we shall do less in the next. Itut what we do will he done well, because it will be done carefully ; it will be useful in doing—it will be wearable, and not done in a heap, ill-adapted and useless, if not worse. These are my opinions, gentlemen. I shall go on in the same man- ner, regardless of the calumnies with which I may be assailed."
Previous page
