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UNIONIST BANQUET -AT -CARDIGAN.

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UNIONIST BANQUET AT CARDIGAN. Speeches by Lord Emlyn, Mr Morgan- Richardson, Mr Harford, etc. St David's Day at Cardigan was ce ebrated by a Unionist banquet held at fhe G-jild-hall in tne evening in connection with the Cardigan Conservative Clut). Colonel Picton Evans, cbalrman of the club, presided, and was upp Irted, among otners, by Viscount Emlyn, Mr J C Haiford, Fa'condale (Conservative and Unionist candidate for Ca diganshire), Mr Ar hur P S^inders- Davies (Conservative and Uni nitgt candidate for Pdmbrokeshire), Cap'ain Jones-Parry, and "Mr J Hotchkis. The positions of vice-chairmen were tilled by Mr G B Bowen (Stradaiore), Mr C Mo'gan Richard. son (Neuadd-Wilym), and Captaip Webley Parry Pryse. The hall wa ssmewhat elaborately decorated, and the catering of Mr-W N Morg-iu, of tiie An,,el qotel, Car ligan, gave every satufaJtion. Toe gue-ts num- bered about 150. Captain Jones-Parry proposed "The Uriionist Cu.e," taxing the Government with the failure of their programme, ani dwelliog on the g >-at importance of tha continuance of the alliance betweeu the Cjoserva- tives and Liberal Uniooists. Viscount Emlyn, who met with an eTthusiasnc re- ception, reop)nded. He remarket he did no-, nimself believe that at, any time in our po itical history nad party politics been in exactly the position in which they now where. Look at the Govern>neni of to-d-ty, 1-ok at any part of their policy, and he iffied the'n to find another par y in such a despicable state before hunting for votes, hanging on to the coat-tail of the Irish p'r y, professing to be the leaders of a party, bu' having no policy whatever of their own, professing to be the hnnd, but beiug wagged in every direction by haif-a-d. Zen tails (laughter and cheers). Taat was no exa^geriti >n. They luokel to their state-men-he hoped they should always look to their statesmen, whatever their views might be—to be thoroughly earnest in carrying ■ ut their policy. Could they hY that honestly of the present Government? Take, first of all, their I,i8h policy. They said their obj ect w is to bring about Home Rule -they were satisfied that that was the onty thing to be done but it appeared to be ch,efly to keep them in office, which, apparently, was of vitl importance (ironical cheers). They said the country was at their back. Why did not they ask the country whether it was at their backs, aod why was it they had never asked the country yet (cheera) ? There was only one thing he could find out that the present Government were determined upon, and that was that upon no accoant, and under no pretence, whttver, would they allow the country to distinctly say -1 Aye or Nay to their Home Rule Bill. He did not think they should be very uncharitable if they assumed that the Govern- ment had a very shrewd idea of what pr -bably the answer would be. They were wise in their generation, but he would suggest that that was hardly the way the constituencies of the couatry shiuld be treated by a Government. The electors had a right when the Con- stitution was going to be toro to pieces to htve what the Government were g dug to d^> di cussud h3- the coontry. It was very ea<y to blame the House of Lords I for throwing out Bills. The Ht)u.e of Lords, he assu-ned, was intended to do something; they were to- tended by the Constitution to see ttiar, no changes were made too rapidly. When a Government came forward with a -most material, a most vital, change, and their Bill w's cast hack in their face they generally appealed to the country. Did the present Government do 80 f Not a bit of it. They had taken the more oudinified method of what he would call log-rolling, and k h:s log. rolling was carried on something in this way:—They ail, We are not going to fight out the House of Lor Is on the question of Home Rule; we will oid" the issue, and we will get returned to Parliament by a section of people pledged to the Dise^t^blishine'it of a Church, by another concerned in th6 liquor traffic, by another interested in the labour question, by another believing in one man one vote." The Hoine Rule gentleman said to the gentleman wno wished to Disestablish the Church, "I will help )on to Dis- establish the Church, and when I have roiled your little log vou must roll my little Home Rule log for me." Then the Home Rule gentleman ;and Disestab- lishment genOeman cane toga he,, and sai.l'oine liquor traffic gentleman, We are very fond of your liquor log. and we will help you to roll that little log it jou c <me and roil our lozs witn us" A more mis- chievous system could not be imagined. It was un. Eng ish, it was not straightforward, it wa- selling the oonlltitaenciee-taking away from the constituencies their right to decide main issues apar from all the intricacies of wire-pulling and lo.c-rol.ing (chaers). The question of H >tne Rule vas quite large enough and quite import»nt enough to deal witb at oue election. But. the Government were ootsitisfied with that. They raved against the House of Lords on every possible occasion, and they said th-y -vere going some day, when they had time and inclination, to pass a resolution condemning the House of Ljrda. It would, no d .ubt, give rise to a v-ry interesting denate. bu when it was dIne he imagined it would be put in the waste paper boilket, and there would be an end of the resolution (cheers). But, not stttisfied with those little questions, Home Rule and the aoolition of the House of Lords, the Government m ist play with the question of the Cnurch in Wale-he said deliberately play wi, h th-i question of theOnurchin Wales. Noboly 00 eitner side of the House of Comm ns believed thare was the slightest chance of the Bi-I coming into law. Why, then, play wi h it? There were many Nonconformists who believed firmly that Disestablishment wis the right course to take. Upon them they snould impress that the Bill W-18 n It a trifling thing, but a matter that should be carefully and solemnly considered (cheers). They would search in vain through the whole pro posals of the Bill to find that any bumm being would be a shil ing a head better off, than any one human beinit outside its pale would be a farthing better Iff. while ministrations would undoubtedly, in a few years, be taken from where they coall least be spared. Lord Emlyn then r"ferred to the new deatb duties, which he described as injurious, not only to landlords succeeding to estates, but, indirectly, to tenant farmers, and, finally, labourers and io conclusion said that the pros- pects of Unionism in those pnrts were bright enough, citing in proof thereof the spirited fight which the young and energetic candidates were making in Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire, and Cardigan- shire. Mr C Morgan-Richards m, who was received with loud ap 'lause, also resp mded, aod, speaking as a Liberal Unionist, announced, amid continued cheering, that he was prepared to support and further the can- didature of Mr Harford for Cardiganshire, and of Mr Saunders Davies for Pembrokeshire. He corroborated Lord Emlyn as to the iniquitous character of the new succession duties, and said be should like the freeholders of Cardiganshire to know what it meant to tham. Take the cise of a man who had a farm worth a £ 100 a year. Last year if he died his son would have had to pay something like E8 or LIO, but now would have to pay no less than £ 7-5 in succeeding to the farm. Referring to the proposal which be had written a pamphlet upon and advocated before the Welsh Land Commission, namely, that the Government should lend money at a small rate of interest to the struggling freeholder, he said he did not believe there was a possibility of their getting that measure from a Radical Government. He was not ashamed to call himself a Liberal, but he never was, and never could be, a Radical (cheers). Mr Morgan James, whose name was also coapled to the toast, replied in a spirited Welsh speech. Colonel J R Hovell then submitted the toast of The Unionist Candidates," coupling with it the names of Mr J C Harford and Mr A P Saunders Davies, both of whom met with very cordial receptions. Mr Harford, in his response, regretted the death of the Unionist candidate for Merionethshire, who was a typical Unionist, and proceeded to offer an explanation as te a letter which he wrote at the beginning of his candidature. He wrote the letter with the best inten- tion, and if be hurt anyone he was heartily Borry for it. However he had had the extreme pleasure of hearing that night that Mr Morgan-Richardson would support him, and that the Liberal Unionist party would give him their loyal and hearty support (cheers). Mr Saunders Davies dwelt upon the difficulties of a Parliamentary candidate, and, in a very humourous speech, pictured the candidate's experience as anything but the pleasant one of lying on a bed of rose leaves, which the rush for Radical seats would make them believe was the Parliamentary candidate's lot. Captain Gower gave The Cardiganshire Conserva- tive Association." Mr G B Bowen responding in the absence of Mr Charles Lloyd. Lord Emlyn submitted The Cardigan Conservative Club," to which the Chairman replied. "The Workers in the Unionist Cause," proposed by Mr Eynon Beynon, was responded to by Mr J Hotchkis. Others toasts were honoured, and the proceedings terminated.

SOUTH WALES LIBERAL FEDERATION.…

WELSH DISESTABLISHMENT.I

II CILRHEDYN. - - - 11

fc- IF - - - ST. DAVtD'S…

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