Troniurto.
The Anti-Papal meeting of the county of Staffordshire, on Tuesday, was characterized by a temperate tone, and a more practical drift of argu- ment than many of the demonstrations. The Earl of Harrowby, who had felt a great objection to the original intention of holding a meeting from tenderness to his fellow subjects of the Roman Catholic persuasion, came forward when the meeting was resolved on, and moved the first resolution ;, and his personal influence was felt throughout the proceed- ings of the meeting in their increased weight Colonel Anson had felts similar reluctance to initiate the meeting, hut, like Lord Harrowby, joined in its proceedings, and contributed to their mild but effective tone. Of the speeches, Lord Harrowhy'a furnishes air extract which' forcibly desk with an argument much advanced in defence of the reorganisation of the Roman Catholic hierarchy—the analogy of the liberty allowed to War- lop= in England and Episcopalians in Scotland to regulate their OVIPT/ internal government.
In the first place, said Lord Harrowby, what i done by the different
Protestant sects within our own precincts is done among ourselves, and subject to no foreign influence ; and this, as a matter of state polioy, is no mean consideration. Just look for a moment at what that influence is. A French advocate, speaking some few years ago of the influence of the Papacy, said that it was a sword the point of which was everywhere but the handle of which was at Rome. Now, in whose hands is this sword to be placed, politically speaking ? At this moment Rome is in posses- sion of French troops. It may soon be in the hands of Austrian troops, or those of some other power ; for the Sovereign of Rome was incapable, it appears, of supporting himself on his throne by the affections of his own people, and was obliged to look for assistance to foreign bayonets in maintain- ing him while he himself made an aggression on a foreign country. Is it quite the same thing to promote the full development of an ecclesiastical or- ganization among ourselves of bodies and sects liable to no foreign in- fluence, and who have no interest beyond those of subjects of the great coin- monwealth. of England ; and to promote the full development of a system dependent for its organization and direction upon a power living, in a foreign country and dependent for its own existence upon sometimes one foreign power and sometimes another ? This in itself forms a considerable distinction. But there is another distinction. The sects among ourselves- pretend to no exclusive domination. They are anxious, as honest men, to proselytize- when they can ; they think they do right, and they are natu- rally anxious to propagate their notions ; but they do not look upon every man as a rebel who does not come within their fold, nor seek to punish him if he does not. Lord Harrowby -maintained that this is a broad distinction ; that while we give full liberty to the various sects among ourselves to deve- lop themselves, we are right in. watching with jealousy the development of the Church of Rome. This is no theoretical objection. We know that the ecclesiastical organizations among ourselves confine themselves to spiritual purposes—to purposes which deal simply with their own sects. But we know experimentally, we know by the experience of hundreds and hundreds of years, that the Church of Rome does not confine herself simply to spiritual matters. It is sometimes difficult for parties among ourselves to draw nicely and finely the difference between spiritual and temporal affairs : the Church of Rome has. no- difficulty about it—all temporal affairs are at once swept within her dominion. We know that the Church of Rome has put forward the claim, andhas never abandoned it, to release subjects from their alle- giance to their Sovereign, and to transfer dominion from one- hand to an- other. We know that she has exercised- spiritual powers for secular pee- poses. We know that the Church of Rome has given her sanction to mas- sacre, persecution, and extermination • and that the authority by which she did those things. has never been formally abandoned. Lord Harrowby be- lieved honestly in his conscience, that wherever the power has existed' the will to-exercise it has not been wanting. Ile thought the country base right, therefore, to look with some jealousy on a step of this nature. Touching on the attitude of the Roman Catholic laity of this country, Lord Harrowby declared his belief that they will thank their Protestant countrymen for any difficulties thrown in the way of establishing a full- blown hierarchy. And why ? In old times thaGovernment of the Churels of Rome was found to be a grievance even by those most attached. to her. Before the Reformation there was- a constant struggle among the nations of Europe to limit the authority of the Church of Rome. The Roman Catholics of that tiro ,e however, had assistance which the' Roman Catholics of England, at present have not. The State was on. their side. The State was naturally jealous of the Church, became of its constant interference with civil as weft as spiritual matters ; and the connexion of the State with the Church was a protection to the Roman Catholic laity against the Church : hence those bar- riers erected against the introduction of bulls into this country, which were the work not of a Protestant Parliament but of a.Roman Catholic Parliament, when the country itself was Roman Catholic: But. what is the case now? Roman Catholics are without that protection. They are- now purely and simply in the handa of the Pope of Rome as their spiritual superior. Their. spiritual superior has no temporal possessions dependent upon the pro- tection of the State ; the holding of which is some protection against its ex- travagant authority, because, whenever the Pope exercises any authority re- pulsive to the feelings of the people, the State has only talky an embargo upon the ecclesiastical possessions of the Pope, and. he is obliged to knook under. But now the Roman Catholics are simply end purely dependent upon the will of the Pope, himself guided and governed by a body of Cardinals who know nothing of their feelings in any way—who. know nothing more of England than any number of the followers of the Church of Rome in any other country. If the canon law were permitted to be introduced into this country in this form—if the Church of Rome were allowed to have that fell development which she asks—it would-be found to strengthen the hands of the priestly organization among the Roman Catholics, and the laity wou be left absolutely. defenceless. On behalf, therefore, of our lay Roman Ca- tholic fellow-subjects, we ought to interfere to prevent the extension of the unlimited power of Rome. In conclusion, Lord Harrowby gave friendly counsel to the Ministers. He knew that it would be no easy matter to carry out the interference that is justified. He knew that the subject is hampered not only by the jealous feeling honourable to this country which demands that we should deal in the most liberal manner with what assumes the pretension of religious convic- tion; but we are also hampered by precedents among ourselves and in Ire- land. At the same time' hampered though we may be, we must not be ob- structed by precedents. They may impose difficulties in our way—they may expose 801:120 of us to the tu guogue argument of having sanctioned as bad things before. But we must bear all that, and if we have done wrong we must repent. It is not a very dishonourable thing to have erred on the side of liberality and conciliation and to have been mistaken in the conduct of per- sons whom we have treated with confidence. We are bound not to abandon the securities of the civil and religious liberties of the empire. Be ho*, therefore, that Ministers would look the difficulties boldly in the face' and not allow themselves to be hampered by the acts either of themselves or their predecessors. He hoped they would be prepared to meet some obloquy and personal charges, and look singly and solely to the important interests at stake ; for it is a heavy responsibility with which they are charged at this great crisis.
Mr. Cobden appeared in Bradford on Monday, at an assemblage of the members and friends of the local Freehold Society, and made a speech encouraging them to persevere in their quiet assaults on the representa- tion. He reiterated his strong opinion that the machinery of these socie- ties throughout the country affords the effective means by which the House of Commons is to be popularized. Recalling the often quoted experience of the Anti-Corn-law League, he added a picturesque illustration- " Until we in this way laid the foundation of our strength, the politicians persisted in crying out, 'There is a dead calm' ; just as if you were to go into a forest of trees and say, 'Oh! all is very quiet; there is really nothing doing here' ; and then go again in twelve months after, and looking round, repeat the story, ‘A.h ! there is no change here.' But this is not the way to ascertain the growth of a forest. Go again, after the lapse of due time, and then you will find that grove of young oaks grown into a forest of stately timber. Well, all moral movements for the advancement and elevation of the people must be slow—they must be the work of time, just as the growth of the oak tree from the acorn. If these movements are to be permanent in their results, they must be slow, You May., it is true, get something by a sudden shock and concussion ; but it will be like a railway train getting off the line—there will be much more harm than good. We have seen on the Continent reforms effected by a sudden spring—by the force of a sudden and violent effort. But what was the re-. suit? For six months everybody was in amazement at the progress which had been mode: but what of the next twelve months ?—why, all were going back again—hastening back to the dark point from which they had sud- denly and with violence started. And so, gentlemen, will it be in this -country, if you attempt to gain any good except upon the principle of per- severing labour from day to day and year to year. I look forward to seeing you again next year. I will come down and count you over ; and I make no doubt that instead of being six hundred you will be upwards of a thousand."
The proceedings of a meeting held on Saturday last in the Odd Fel- lows Hall at Pocklington, of persons who are not further described but whom the contest suggests to have been agriculturists, had a galvanic in- terest given to them by Mr. Busfield Ferrand ; who attacked the land- fords, and vouchsafed a revelation of one of those party treasons which it seems to be his exclusive privilege to discover and his function to de- nounce. The gathering alluded to seems to have had Protectionist aims, and it occurred on or about the day of the meeting which assembled at the De Grey Rooms in York last year. We give this characteristic portion of a very long oration-
" Mr. Chairman and brother farmers of the county of York, it is now exactly a year ago since we were assembled in the De Grey Rooms, in the city of York, for the purpose of bringing the grievances under which we were then and are still suffering before the notice of Parliament, and to de- mand redress for those grievances. We are assembled here today again to -demand redress. You have had the petition read to you, which you will be ..aaked to adopt by a show of hands at this meeting. Last year, at York, there -.was a great gathering of farmers and landed proprietors. The landlords and Aenant-farmers stood side by side. We had my Lord Harewood, the Presi- , 'dent of the Yorkshire Protection Society, in the chair; we had resolutions moved and seconded by the Duke of Cleveland and by some of the leading _men of this county ; and now then let us hear what was the first resolution. _It was this—' That the partial system of free trade at present in operation is . causing a ruinous sacrifice of the present capital engaged in the land, and producing severe distress among the tenant-farmers of this kingdom, their tradesmen and labourers, and similar injury on other great branches of na- Bic industry.' Now, that resolution was moved, seconded, and unanimously adopted, and followed tm by another, declaring that the earliest opportunity ought to be taken for bringing the subject before Parliament, and urging the -necessity for placing a moderate import-duty on corn and all other articles In the production or manufacture of which British labour is largely engaged. Now then, I ask you, farmers, are you still suffering the same distress as you were twelve months ago? (Cries of" Yes, Yes!") Then, I ask, where are the landed gentry ? ("Hear, hear!" and a Voice—" In the back set- Alements.") You have some noble examples in this Riding, and there are some of them here today ; but as a body, I charge them here, in your pre- sence, with having deserted the cause of the tenant-farmer. Yes, the land- lords themselves are dependent upon you for their existence as a class in this dountry ; and they are now leaving you to fight the battle of Protection by yourselves. Ay, and let me tell you tenant-farmers who are here—and, . through the press, those who are not here throughout Yorkshire—how that . meeting at York twelve months ago was concocted. Now, I am going to , state what I know to be a fact—to wit, that that meeting was originated by a ( -Whig Cabinet Minister. (Cries of "Oh !") Yes, her Majesty's Govern- .•iinent—the Whig Government, alarmed at the fearful distress which was over- growing the agricultural interest, came to the determination—the honest resolution—of proposing an import-duty on foreign corn ; and a member . of. the Government of that day and of the present Government pulled the strings which formed that meeting. That meeting met with his approval ; and at the time it was held (it is the case also now) her Majesty's Govern- ment was only impressed with the conviction that nothing but an import- duty on foreign corn eeark slaver this country from ruin. How was it that . you were robbed of that protection ? Why, her Majesty's Government was obliged to yield the question ; for the late Sir Robert Peel gave her Majesty's Qovernment notice that if they dared to interfere with his Free-trade mea- sures they should have his most strenuous opposition. The Government were thus frightened from doing their duty to the country ; and they want you, the agriculturists, to struggle on through another twelvemonth of frightful suffering. Since that day Sir Robert Peel has been called away to give his last account. I am not going to say anything today to hurt or harrow the feelings of his relatives or friends; but as the manufacturing districts have agreed to erect monuments to his memory as a statesman, let me give them one word of advice—and that is, that these monuments should be erected where three roads happen to meet, having on the pedestal this inscription- ' Weary traveller, you have throe courses to pursue.' (Laughter and ap- plause.) But, gentlemen, to return to the York meeting. There was then also a committee appointed by the tenant-farmers, consisting of country gentlemen, whose words have hitherto been their bond and whose honour has been untainted. This committee was to watch over your interests, and to adopt such measures as they thought best suited and most advisable to procure a restoration of protection. That committee met in June or July last ; and what was the result of their deliberations ? Have you heard ? I have not: and why ? Because I believe some underhand work was agreed to at that meeting. (Cries of "Oh, oh !") But this I do know, that a member of that committee has since it met been canvassing for a Free- trader. This being the case, I warn you that you must put your own shoulders to the wheel—that you must stand up for your own interests. And let me tell the landed proprietors, that if they are not careful how in fu- ture they conduct then7selves upon this great and vital question, they will for ever separate the tenant-farmers from them."
The strike of seamen at Shields and Sunderland has been joined by one of those at Blyth and at Hull. The movement at Shields and Sunder- land gave the authorities some uneasiness. An "attack on the shipping- office" at Tynemouth, on Friday last week, is alluded to in the brief ac- counts ; but subsequently the seamen are said to have waited on the Mayor to explain their grievances, to assure him that they desire to re- dress them peaceably, and to disclaim any connexion with the "attack on the shipping-office." The Mayor of Shields forbade a public meeting, and called in a reinforcement of fifty armed policemen from Newcastle; who prevented ho meeting, and arrested some persons who would not disperse. The same authority is said to have applied to the Admiralty for the protection of a war-steamer : but the seamen insist upon their desire to avoid all violence. It is said that nearly 4000 men of the Tyne and Wear alone have, by signing a memorial to the Board of Trade, polled against the present form of the regulations established under the Mercan- tile Marine Act.
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