SCOTLAND.
The Corporation of Aberdeen availed themselves of the opportunity of Lord Aberdeen's presence in Scotland, to compliment him with an address, which was presented to him on Monday last, in the Town-hall. The Premier was accompanied by his youngest son Mr. Arthur Gordon, and by Provost Blakie and Mr. G. Thompson• ' Lord Kintore, Lord James Hay, Mr. iames Duff M.P., Mr. Skene Duff M.P., Sir William Forbes and other officers of the Seventy-ninth Regiment, were on the Platform. In replying to the address, Lord Aberdeen feelingly alluded to the last time he was present in_ that hall : it was when he introduced Sir Robert Peel to the Corporation, when they conferred upon him the freedom of their city. In the political part of his speech, he adhered to his declaration of :principles on tithing office; first touching on Free- trade. Of course, when he entered office, it had been the object to main- thin and extend the commercial system of Sir Robert Peel ; but it would now be superfluous for any one to constitute himself the champion or de- fender of a system universally adopted, in which even its enemies pro- fessedly agree or silently acquiesce.
" I declared that the main principles on which the measures of the Go. vernment would rest were the principles of conservative progress. Now it has been attempted to cast doubt on the meaning of these term; and it has been pretended that they are vague and not easily intelligible. What I mean by that expression is this, that while the great institutions of the country and the fundamental principles of the constitution shall be religiously preserved, I would nevertheless fearlessly carry the hand of reform into every department of the state. (Loud cheering.) I am satisfied it is only on these principles that any Government can long exist in this country, or de- serve the support of the people. We have endeavoured to act on these prin- ciples to a considerable extent; and I may look back with satisfaction to measures which have been carried for the advantage of the public at large, and which appear to me to me to merit the approbation of the country. Even in the last session of Parliament, although from circumstances of a peculiar nature it was not possible to give full development to the projects of her Ma- jesty's Government, nevertheless various measures were carried—commer- cial, fiscal, and legal—all of which were fraught with advantage to the ge- neral public, and in ordinary times would have been considered to furnish materials for public thanks, and occupation sufficient for a session of Parlia- ment.
" It is true also, that, on that occasion, I felt it my duty to declare that the policy of the Government was a policy of peace. I believe it will be ad- mitted that to that policy we have endeavoured to adhere. Nay, more, I am satisfied that the great and universal support we now meet with through- out the country in the war in which we are engaged is due to the belief that we sincerely did our utmost to avoid the calamities of war. (Loud cheer- ing.) The moment it became necessary to declare war, I then, although I can truly say that I clung to the hope of peace with an almost desperate tenacity—still, when war became inevitable, I declared that, so far as I was concerned, it should be carried on with the utmost vigour and energy of which the Government was capable. Gentlemen, perhaps the moment is not inopportune to ask whether that pledge has been fulfilled ? (Loud and prolonged cheering.) If, gentlemen, you will only consider what has been done in the course of six short months, I think you will admit that this country never made an exertion at all comparable with that which she has just made. An army has been collected, and transported from the shores of this country, such as never left them in preceding history —an army such as the Duke of Wellington never commanded, and appointed in all its parts in a manner which, humanly speaking, is calculated to insure its success. Gentlemen, conceive what the extent of preparation must have been, when you are told that not fewer than seven hundred vessels were en- gaged in the same operation. The difficulties connected with it, and the time required indispensably for such an undertaking, must strike every man of common candour : and yet we hear people talk of delay—as if there had been delay ! I will venture to say, that such an effort as has now been made was never before in the history of the world made in so short a time. Our army has gone forth and has achieved its first great victory in conjunction with our gallant allies; our strict concord and union with whom have been fully established from the very first moment, and which hold out the most en- couraging prospects to all Europe. We know not the details of this event ; but they appear to me to be most important, and, I trust, decisive ; for, al- though, by the natural impatience of the public—in which I myself partook —we were led to believe the reports from different quarters of the conse- quences—the immediate consequences of this victory, which are now found not to be confirmed, still let us venture to hope that what has been reported without foundation may in a short time become reality. At the very moment in which I am now addressing you there is no reason not to hope that that event, which in the course of last week was erroneously reported, may have now become a fact. I have said that the war would be continued with the utmost vigour and energy of which the country was capable : but in this I do not abandon a pacific policy. I believe that, to carry on the war in this manner, affords the best prospect of arriving at an early and a satisfactory conclusion. I believe that peace, although sought by different means, is sought as effec- tually, under present circumstances, by this course, as it would be by written negotiations or diplomatic discussions. Let me observe, that in carrying on the war with this vigour and this energy, we have nevertheless done some- thing to deprive war of its horrors, to humanize its operations, and to mitigate those atrocities with which it is inevitably accompanied. At the risk and at the sacrifice of some belligerent rights, we have admitted the commerce of neutrals ; and we have by our example put an end to privateer- ing—a most dreadful relic of a barbarous age, and which the world will now probably never see revived. I say, then, that we have endeavoured to miti- gate the horrors of war even while carrying it on with the utmost vigour : and in so carrying it on, I repeat that I for one shall never lose sight of the only legitimate object of all war—that of arriving at a stable, just, and honourable peace. Now, gentlemen, I will say that war, when it ceases to be a necessity, becomes a crime. I should consider any one who had pro- longed the horrors of war for a single day, when it was in his power to make a just, safe, and honourable peace, would be greatly guilty in the eyes of God and man."
At the election for the county of Forfar, on Wednesday, Viscount Duncan was nominated by Lord Gordon Halliburton, seconded by Mr. David Baxter, and returned without opposition.
Previous page
