22 DECEMBER 1849, Page 7

POSTSCRIPT.

SATURDAY.

Mr. Cobden and Colonel Thompson were received at a public meeting in Bradford TemperancealIall on Thursday evening. The Mayor, Mr. Forbes, presided; and he declared the meeting to be the largest and most united of its class that he had seen within his twenty years' experience of the borough. The proceedings opened with a resolution applauding the conduct of Mr. Cobden and Colonel Thompson, especially their speeches and votes in favour of economy, extension of the franchise, and maintenance of the peace abroad and in the Colonies. In acknowledgment of this reso- lution the two Members spoke. Mr. Cobden's speech was of the same tone with his speech at Leeds; but he dealt in a more summary manner with the subjects of the freehold qualification, and the resistance to revived pro- tection, and enlarged considerably on the state of our Colonial relations, vicious and unjust in itself and causing excessive expenditure.

He showed how it is impossible to reduce the Army, while the present Colonial relations oblige us to maintain forces for Colonial protection; and he mentioned some items of charge under this head—such as the maintenance of ordnance stores in Canada, valued last year at 650,0001. He went over the items of the sum (11,578/.) paid for the maintenance of ecclesiastical establishments in Ca- nada. He showed how the inferior prosperity of Canada, as compared with the United States, is caused by the fact that the United States are self-relying and self-governed, while Canada is dependent on this country and governed from Down- ing Street. He recapitulated the case of the Cape of Good Hope, which keeps at bay the Government that claims to protect it against the Caffres; also that of New South Wales, and the disaffection caused there by renewed convictism ; and he showed how these hostile feelings had nothing to do with the removal of protection; so that it is dishonest to mix up Colonial discontent with any question of free trade.

He likened "Rajah" Brooke to Pizarro and calculated that the establishment which we have founded on the naked rock of Labuan costs more than that for the town of Bradford.

He had warned Lord Palmerston, that the protection awarded to the ring of Musquito would involve us with the United States; and now, while we are main- taining the territorial rights of the King, they are maintaining the territorial rights of the Republic of Nicaragua. "This King of Musquito, I find, from the best description and account I can get of him, rules over eight or ten thousand half-naked savages, and I believe I am not wrong in stating that he is as barba- rous as any of the rest. (Laughter.) The gentleman of whom I had the de- scription said, from the account he had of him, the King of Musquito bad only one great accomplishment. I asked what is that? He said, the English find he is very skilful in removing jiggers from their feet. (Much laughter.) These jig- gem are what get under the skin in the feet; and in more polite words we might say—his Majesty is a good corn-cutter." (Peals of laughter.) The doctrine upon which he insisted was, that the English should concede com- plete self-government to the Colonies, and refuse to pay a farthing towards their expenditure. Colonel Thompson made a compact and pointed speech on the abstird- ity of protection and its renewal; amply testifying that if the struggle were to be renewed he would be as stout a champion of free trade as ever.