Wrexham Guardian

MR. C. W. W. WYNN, M.P., AND HIS CONSTITUENTS. ENTHUSIASTIC MEETING AT LLAN- RHAIADR. IMPORTANT ADDRESS. A large meeting of the constituents of Mr. C. W. W. Wynn, Esq., M.P. for Montgomeryshire, was held in the National Schools, Lianrhaiadr-yn-Mochnant, on Friday afternoon, October 31. The entrance to the schools was arched with evergreens, from the apex of which hung a large initial W. The platform was decorated with evergreens, &c., two large ini- tial letters hanging from the rail in front. The room was well filled, many persons at the end of the room having to stand. A large number of gentlemen occupied the platform, amongst whom were the following:—Major Dugdale, J.P. (in the chair), C. W. W. Wynn, Esq., M.P., Sampson Lloyd, Esq., M.P. for Devonport; Owen Slaney Wynne, Esq., J.P., Bertie Wynn, Esq., Rev. J. Williams (Vicar),CaptainHarrison,CaptainMytton, Dr. Williams, and Messrs. John Jones (Gwrgunt), R. S. Perroct, S. T. Perrott, Charles Bilbey, Owen Hughes, John Williams, W. A. Pughe (Llanfylliu), T. Gill (Brynderwyn), T. W. Stokes (Bodyfell Hall), G. Kempster, &c. The CHAIRMAN, on rising to open the meetinir, was received with loud cheers. He said that as political meetings had been held at the other end of the county, several persons were wishful that meetings of a similar character should be held there to be addressed by Mr. C. W. W. Wynn. When such was mentioned to their present respected member—(hear, hear, and cheers)—he said he was quite at the service of any one who wished to hear him. (Applause). Therefore that meeting was called, and he was asked to preside. He thought it was well, perhaps, that he was not prepared to give them a long speech, but he may say that there was no one who felt stronger than he did that their county should be thoroughly well represented, as it now was—(cheers)—by their member. He had represented them for seventeen years, and he had always had the interest of the county—he had almost said the Principality—thoroughly at heart—(cheers)—and he believed he had not done a single act with which they could find fault. (Hear, hear, and cheers). He would not detain them longer because he knew there were gentlemen there whom they would rather hear, and he would therefore at once call on Mr. Charles Wynn to address them. (Cheers). Mr. CHARLES WYNN, M.P., on rising, was received with loud cheers. He said that when he was in Llan- rhaiadr a few weeks before he found that a very general desire existed that a meeting should be held there, similar to those which were so frequently held at the other end of the county, and consequently he was willing to give way to those who thought such a meet- ing necessary. He had always had some doubt about that meeting, because statements made at one place would only be replied to at another, and what was said to one audience was answered i the hearing of another; but without wishing to press his individual opinion he put himself into the hands of his friends, and was willing to be guided by them, and wherever and when- ever any of his constituents wished to see him, and hear an address from him on topics in general, or any par- ticular topic, he was entirely at their service. (Cheers). He thought from the Liberal papers that the opposite party was expecting an early election; whether their expectation was well founded or not he could not say, nor could they. From a speech made by Mr. Cross, the Home Secretary, at Clithero the previous week, he gave his' constituents to understand that he did not think a general election was immediately near. How- ever, they saw from the numerous meetings which the other party were holding that they were furbishing their weapons. They were getting all they could to attend their meetings, and all they could to address them, and although they may not conduct their business in the same manner, it was always advisable, when in expecta- tion of a fight, to "keep their powder dry." (Cheers). Whether the election came at once or later, he feared it would find the country in a state of considerable anxiety and distress. Harvests, the worst they had known for many years, had followed one on the other, and as a natural result these had acted on the manufacturing district. America was in distress similar to themselves. Our commerce with her was nothing like what it was. The iron and coal trade were both suffering severely, but he hoped certain indications, which had appeared lately in the shape of a revival of the iron trade, would lead also to a revival of the coal trade. At any rate he feared it would be many months at least before the revival would reach their friends at Ruabon. In addi- tion to this there had been a bad outlook on the continent. Great uneasiness had existed, and conse- quently a considerable reduction of trade. All these things rendered the winter an anxious and depressing time, and if the winter was selected for a general election it would be hardly possible that there would not be .much discontent expressed. Men found them- selves poorer, distress around them, rates higher, and naturally they wanted to lay the fault upon some- body, and upon whom so naturally as the Government ? (Hear, hear, and cheers). It was hardly necessary to say that the distress which had arisen, partially from bad harvest, could not be laid at the doors of the Government, nor upon any body of human beings, but must be attributed to the dispensations of Providence, (Cheers). Their duty was to make the best of bad times, fight through them, and live in hopes of better times. (Hear, hear, and cheers). The Conservative party had good reason to complain of the use which has been made of the depression of trade. (Hear, hear.). No thinking man would feel that the cause of it could be attributed to the Government, or the blame laid upon any person. (Hear, hear). It was a remarkable fact that whenever the country had been in a state of depression, in war, or in anxiety, that party once known as Whigs, then as Liberals, and now as Radicals, had always endeavoured to make political capital out of if. (Hear, hear, and cheers). If they went back to the early years of the century they would find that at the beginning of the French War there was the same discontent expressed, the same grumbling with all the efforts of the Government, the same tendency to ruu down any success achieved by our arms, whether in the Peninsula or in France, and they endeavoured to make out that every misfortune, from storms or other uncontrollable affairs, was the fault of the Government. All was laid at the feet of the Govern- ment. After some years of abuse and fault finding— during which time the Duke of Wellington went on steadily in his career of victory—and although there were reverses -at sea, they were more than counter- balanced by the victories-aftér we had swept the sea clear, and, after the battle of Trafalgar, no flag dared to show itself—then the Opposition gave their undivided support to the Government of the day. But the mal- contents, the Whigs of the day, paid for their want of patriotism by exclusion from office for a period which lasted for 20 years. (Cheers). History not seldom repeates itself, and he would stron-ly recommend the leaders of the opposite party to ponder whether their want of sympathy in the calamities which had befallen our arms in India and at Isandula, whether that feeling which is always in favour of an enemy and against our country, was not likely to produce the same results. (Cheers). Now, in regard to the stumping commenced more than a year ago, and the agitation kept up by Mr. Gladstone by pamphlets and articles about the Bul- garian atrocities. He did not wish to palliate those atrocities, but he would mention that they were followed by excesses hardly less horrible committed by the Russians in their retreat behind the Balkans. The Liberals attempted to make political capital out of all these things, but he thought the -country were be- ginning to tire of theirrepeated assertions. (Hear, hear). Turning to South Africa, he said he had a nephew now staying at Coed-y-Maen who had just come from Sir Garnet Wolseley's quarters. He told .him that regi- ments were being sent home and that Sir '-Garnet wished to keep no more men there than were necessary ta settle the an-angementsof the country, -that he hoped, before Christmas, to send every English soldier out of Zululand. (Cheers). In India the prospect was hardly less cheerful. We had marched upon Cabul to avenge the murderous and treacherous death of our envoy and his companions. Cabul had been reached h the famous Khyber Pass, noted for the English killed there in 1843, and the greater part of the city was row blown ap, and the ruler of that country, who was our ally, and against whose rebellious people we waged war, was •w ready to assist us in subduing and rmling the nitry. (Hear, hear). The scientific frontier, he to mean—although not a soldier—a frontier behind which one man or one regiment could do the work of 4ien who were the other side. (Hear, hear). That, he :thought, was the reason why the Government were so ;anxious to establish .a new line of demarcation between .•urselves and the hill tribes on the north, and not only against the hill tribes, but also against the advance of Russia. (Hear, hear, and cheersj. They found that this operation had been steadily and satisfactorily carried on, not without loss of Mood, it was true, bqt in point of number of men killed not large when compared with the.oircumstances. (Hear, hear). The casualties had been pounted by tens and not by hundreds, or thousands. They had heard the Government blamed for sending men to Cabul at all. The reason and justification was simply this anyone who looked at the map of Hussia SB years ago, and one of to-day, would see the enormous .advance she has made. (Hear, hear). Year after year,, provinces had been added fro her and never restored again, although she promised to do so when the disturbances were over. (Hear, hear). These promises had never been fulfilled, and not one inefc had she ever riven up. there were other indications when we Found that the Ruler of Cabul was receiving a Rus- sian mission aad refusing to accept one frcen England, at least to guarantee the safety of jiu Envoy. Such indicated that Russian influence Wai; pretty ex- tensive then. (Hear, hear, and cheers). Thad influence they knew had always been secretly at work. (Hear, hear). It was Russian influence without dcw&t that moved the hill tribes and the Afghans to rebel ag-ainst their rulers and to threaten us. (Hear, hear). U was not for nothing that they did it. The truth was fiawsia was angry and irritated at being forced by the Treaty of Berlin to retire from the advance she had made towards Constantinople, to give up the bone when [ it was nearly in their mouth, and, by the united voice of Europe to be sent back to the place from whence they came. (Cheers). Early in last year there was a treaty called the Treaty of San Stefano by which a large portion of the Turk's province, South of the Balkans was to become Russian country. The European powers, except England, were willing to accede to that treaty but England said "we are bound by previous treaties, and from no treaty to which England has set her hand can she retreat without the consent of all other parties to the treaty." (Cheers). And upon that we took our stand. It was owing to our firmness on that occasion and to the presence of the British Fleet in the sea of Marmora that the Russians were induced to consent to the abrogation of the Treaty of San Stefano, and to consent to the Treaty of Berlin. (Cheers). He had since learned from Russian sources that this was a true history, and that nothing but the firmness and determination of Great Britain would ever have induced Russia to retreat from her first position. (Cheers). To that treaty we had received a most important accession within the past fortnight. Austria and Germany had set their hands to it, and the treaty was not between England and Turkey on one hand and Russia on the oth( but between Turkey and the whole of civilised Europe on the one hand and Russia on the other. (Loud cheers). There was, therefore, good grounds for hoping that the settlement would prove to be a peaceful and lasting one. (Hear, hear, and cheers). But this Eastern Question was no new one. It was present to the mind of Mr. Pitt so long ago as the beginning of this century. It went all through Lord Liverpool's Administration, and he had found among his father's papers a series of notes ad- dressed to him on the subject when he was at the head of the Board of Control, by the Duke of Wellington. They were both anxious to keep a large neutral zone of independent tribes between ourselves and Russia. The tribes were a turbulent, nomad, wild population, and always fighting amongst themselves, and it was thought that they would be the best barrier against the advance of Russia. He had lately seen a very curious map of the Southern provinces of Russia and Asia, and it was most extraordinary to observe the great advance which had been made since that period, up to the present moment. Had not Russia been kept back by moral force beyond the Balkans, there could be but little doubt that we and Russia should have found ourselves together at Peshawur, the very gate of our Empire, and he need not say that such would have been an im- possible position for us to keep. We have but a small army and a great extent of country to defend and, unless we have a well selected and well forti- fied frontier to defend our position, our life in the East would be one of continual warfare. (Hear, hear, and cheers). Well, supposing, for the sake of argument, that a Liberal Administration was to be formed. He ha I been rather interested and amused in seeing the speculations in their leading journal, the Daily News, as to the composition of the ministry, and he found that both at Liverpool and Manchester, the great centres of Liberal organisation, the man whom it was supposed would be entrusted with the conduct of foreign affairs was Lord Derby—(laughter)—a man who, for the last five years, had had the charge of those affairs under the present Administration. Well, because he had departed from the Government upon one point, did they seriously think that the whole of his actions during the last five years, and especially his policy towards foreign countries, was likely to be entirely reversed ? (Hear, hear). If they did, they were entirely mistaken. (Cheers). No foreign Minister would dare to re- verse what had been done, and if he did, he would be thrust from power. Any Government that attempted to reverse what had been done of late by diplomacy, and bring them back to where they were in 1874, would be thrust from office. (Hear, hear). To those who wished to see the subject more ably discussed, he recommended the speech of Lord Salisbury at Man- chester recently, and they may read it in the light of the reply of Lord Hartington. Those who did so would agree with him that in no one point was the speech of Lord Salisbury affected by that of Lord Hartington. (Cheers). Lord Hartington's speech was a moderate one, able and statesman-like, but there were one or two curious passages in it. He spoke of the hopeless- ness of anything being done by the present Parliament, which, he said, was the creature of the Tory Ministry. Well, that was certainly a curious thing. It was elected under the Administration of Mr. Gladstone, and further- more, supposing the majority to be what they called a fluke," had not the country had ample opportunities of altering the position of affairs ? (Cheers). There had been, roughly speaking, about 150 elections since the general election in the beginning of 1874. He believed it to be quite without a parallel that a Government in its sixth year and about to meet its seventh Parliament, should possess the same majority, if not a larger one, than they had when originally placed in power. (Hear, hear, and cheers). The working majority during the last six years had been 50, more or less, seldom less, often more, running to 56, 57, and 58, upon ordinary party topics, but when they came to questions of foreign policy, then they had a majority of 100, 110, and 120; and how did they account for that ? (Loud cheers). He accounted for it thus, that a large section of the Liberal party had preferred the honour and safety of their country to party allegiance. (Loud cheers). All honour to them for such. (Hear, hear, and cheers). The question he would ask was, Is this verdict, so often renewed, this approval so frequently given, likely to be reversed at the general election ?" He thought not. (Loud cheers). The Government had been 1 charged with wars, depredations, annexations, and he knew not what else, and he had been asked if he would venture, within the hearing of chapels, of Shiloh, of Bethel, to repeat his approval of those wars. In regard to their Indian Expedition, and the judicial and just punishment of, those who committed that treacherous and murderous assault on Sir Louis Cavagnari, he would respent in the hearing of every chapel, and in every chapel too, that that war was a just and proper war. (Loud cheers). Their Ambassadors had always been respected by civilised and barbarous nations. Respect was even shown to John Dunn, in Zululand, and a safe conduct given, and was it to be that the English Mission in the hands of the Ameer of Cabul was to be less safe, or its treacherous murder to be less vigorously avenged, than in any other country ? (Cheers). The Government had been blamed for send- ing a Mission tkere. Probably there was no man in the world, certainly not the Governor General, certainly not the Commander in Chief, certainly no one in this country, who knew more accurately or so well, the risk Sir Louis Cavagnari was running in proceeding with so small an Embassy, as he did himself. He knew all, calculated the chances, and believed it was safe. When he found his life was in danger, he said "Kill me, kill the man who succeeds me, and the one who succeeds him, and we shall still have eneugh in England to avenge oux death." (Cheers). He hoped these words would never be forgotten. (Hear, hear, and cheers). Sir Louis did not believe the tribes at Cabul to be so treacherous as they proved to be, and bitterly and sadly did he pay for his confidence in them, and he hoped they had not so far departed from the spirit of their fathers than to accord to him anything but one united tribute of praise and honour for the deeds he had done. (Cheers). He had lost his life in defence of our Indian Empire, and he hoped and trusted that such an act of heroic, self-sacrifice as that England would not readily forget. (Cheers). He had been rather amused by an article which no doubt some of them had read in a local paper, the Oswestry Advertiser. (Laughter). It proposed to him a list of questions almost as long as Mr. Glad- stone's 20 burning questions—(loud laughter)—questions which he said were burning to be solved, and must be immediately solved by the Conservative Administra- tion. He was afraid that neither their patience nor his voice would hold out were he to undertake to go through all the questions proposed, but there were two or three which he would notice. (Cheers). They asked him for a definite utterance of his opinion of free trade, He would say, and he had said it before, that he looked upon free trade as an accomplished fact, and one that could never be undone. (Cheers). Looking at their teem- ing populations, at the millions that were being added to their colonies and the thousands to their home popu- lations, he said the idea of putting a tax, or protective duty, on any article of daily consumption, must be the. wildest dream that ever entered into man's head. (Cheers). He hoped that would be sufficiently definite for them. (Laughter and loud cheers). Then they asked him another question as to his opinion on free trade in land. Now if they had told him what free trade in land was he may have given j them some answer. (Hear, hear). Often as he had heard it discussed he could not, for the life of him, understand what was wanted. If it was a simplification of conveyance, or of the legal documents j necessary to the transfer of land, then although he had not so much knowledge of the subject as had Mr. Humphreys Owen, yet he had sufficient to say that he cordially agreed with him. (Hear, hear). If free trade in land meant that they should be able to sell a field as easily as they could £100 in the Funds, then he knew enough of the subject to say that it was an exceedingly difficult one to deal with. (Hear, hear). He wished disposal were as easy, but there was this great differ- ence, the £100 in the Funds was their own, and no one else had to do with it, which was not the case in land. Take au instance. Suppose a field of 10 acres, worth £30 an acre, belonging to a man who had one son. He wished the son to succeed him, but he also wished to make some provision for his daughters, and consequently he puts a charge of JS100 a piece for twodaughters on the land, and which the son has to pay to them. That was simple enough. Well, times go on, and the son wishes to part with the land, but he finds that there is this charge of £100 each for the daughters, and he has not the ready money to pay them off. He cannot sell the land without giving notice to the purchaser that these snms are secured upon it, and therefore what is he to do with it ? This was the first hitch. Well, the son mortgages the land for these several sums, and dis- charges them, and then he sells the land subject to that mortgage. The purchaser then finds himself owner of an estate already mortgaged for a large sum. There they had the simplest possible form of an encumbered estate, and how were they to get rid of that unless they adopted another system altogether, and say a man shall not leave his land to whom he pleases but divide it among his children, leave say one acre each to his daughters. Unless they adopted some such division as that he did not know how they could get greater freedom in land than at present. There were other ways of dealing with encumbered estates, such as the owner joining with the next heir entail, &c., and he -did not know of any simpler system for a man to deal with his land after death. He knew this was a subject which came home to them. He knew many of thein wished to keep together their little holdings; they wished their daughter, or wife, or son to have it, and yet they wished to leave a portion of its value to others, and so he did not see his way clear to any change in this respect. If any feasible plan were suggested, he should be only too glad to give it his earnest attention if the could sw a way of working it without affecting the interest of either boys or girls. (Hear, hear, and cheers). An enforced change would not be to any good The system in othw countries had not succeeded. The yield in France was much smaller per acre than in jfinglaad, in spite of every farmer holding his home- stead, and they all knew the state of Ireland before the famine of 1846, and that famine was partially brought about by aeottage proprietory. Each worked his little bit of ground, and endeavoured to live upon it, but he would I have been better off as a labourer on a larger estate. (Hear, hear, and cheers). Another point which had been spoken of by many at former meetings was what they called the ruinous state of the finances." They must have some information which had not been given to him or any other member of the House of Commons. They would remember that in the Budget of last April no new tax was put on, and they had been assured by Sir Stafford Northcote that the expense of the Zulu War and the Indian War, although heavy, would be far less than they had been led to expect by their opponents. During the five years the Conservatives had been in power, they had decreased the sugar duty, entirely re- moved the horse tax, and they also had reductions in other directions. (Hear, hear). The Government had uniformly shown its anxiety to give further relief to local taxation, which they said pressed too heavily upon the land of the kingdom. They had carried their ideas into effect in several ways, and intend to continue when opportunities offered. They had taken the main- tenance of the prisons from the county rate, and a portion of the maintenance of the police, and if peace and prosperity, by God's mercy, settled on the country, further efforts would be made in the same direction. (Hear, hear, and cheers). He asked the tenant farmer, upon whom the rates pressed heavily, to remember that the greater part of the local rates, such as the sanitary rate and the education rate, had all been put upon land by their predecessors, in office. (Hear, hear, and cheers). He thought it was not too much to say that there was exhibited in the actions and utterances of the last Cabinet, a rooted aversion to the landed interest. Mr. Bright never mentioned it except to abuse it, and as he spoke of it as the "stupid" party, he supposed he thought they, like asses, would bear any burden put upon them. Mr. Gladstone had generally favoured the manufacturing district at the expense of the land, and he did not think it was too much to expect, that if the present admin- istration continued in power they would have further relief, in the shape of a change of the charges on the county rates to the national exchequer. (Cheers). The Parliament had been charged with being an idle one, a useless one and a inefficient one. (Laughter). Well it was quite true that the number of measures passed would not compare with those of the Liberal administration. In the first place, after a long period of successive and violent changes which ended in 1874, the country asked to be allowed to rest. The Government, however, had done much. There was the Artizans' Dwellings Act. It had not done much yet but it would bear good fruit in the future (Hear, hear). Therc had also been several Acts in the direction of increased inspection and increased care of factories, which tended to the safety of the working man and woman. There was another important bill—the Irish University Bill—which the previous administra- tion gave up in despair. The Government had passed the bill successfully, and in one Session. The Prisons was also an important Bill, and it would help to relieve the tax-payer of the country, and secured uniformity of treatment in prisons throughout the land. In olden times a prison in one county was very different to a prison in another. Another important measure for the codification and simplification of the criminal law was laid upon the table, but owing to the great obstruction of the Irish members, it remained until next Session. The Summary Jurisdiction Bill was also a measure which would prove most useful, and prevent a man from languishing in prison for two months or ten weeks waiting for trial at Quarter Sessions because he could not get bail. When speaking of the duties taken off horses by the Government, he forgot to mention the particular advantage of the measure. He believed it would improve the breed of horses, and enable many of them to keep a nag or kind of hack for a gig, which they may not have kept be- fore and it would also, no doubt, tend to mount their Yeomanry better. (Hear, hear). He would not detain them much longer. They may soon stand face to face with an election, and whenever it came upon them he asked them to renew that trust which had been given on four separate occasions during the last 17 years. (Cheers). He had hot the pleasure of knowing his opponent very well, but he believed him to be an amiable and accomplished man. He thought, however. that it was not derogatory to him personally to say that he could not know their feelings and interests so well as one who had lived with them all his life. (Hear, hear and cheers). There had been some remarks about his not speaking frequently in the House of Commons. He thought he could appeal to his excellent friend Mr. Sampson Lloyd, who was M.P. for Devonport, as to whether a man who did his work conscien- tiously in the committee rooms of the House of Commons, and attended to his business in the debates did not do his work as ably and well as one who filled up the time of the house in saying ill what ha.d been said well a dozen times before. (Laughter and cheers). The great evil in the Parliamentary system was not the want of talking but an excess of it. (Cheers). After an allusion to the Irish members, and a remark that when he found any information he possessed would be of benefit to the House, he readily gave it, and other- wise justified the course he had taken, he proceeded to say t 'at his fate at the next election rested in their hands, and he should accept their verdict with cheer- fulness. If they again reposed the confidence which he had held for seventeen years, he should take it as an incentive to do his utmost to serve them better than be- fore, but in the other case he should have the proud con- sciousness of feeling that he had done his duty, and whatever political opponents he had made, he had not left one personal enemy in the county of Montgomery- shire. The hon. gentleman resumed his seat amid loud cheers, having spoken for at least GO minutes. Mr. WILLIAM JONES (Gwrgunt) addressed the meet- ing in Welsh. Mr. SAMPSON LLOYD, M.P., who was received with cheers, said he ventured to address the meeting as he had been an elector of the county for some years—(hear, hear, and cheers)—and it was in that capacity that he had been asked to speak to them. There was but little left for him to say after the exhaustive speech they had heard from Mr. Wynn. He regretted that he could not speak to them in their native language, which he hoped they would stick to. It was the most ancient tongue in the world, and he was always glad when he saw the Welsh sticking to their language. (Cheers). Their respected member, in his speech, had told them that the party to which they belonged were called the stupid party. They were called such in the district where he lived some years ago. But now they had been in power several years they heard nothing about the stupid party, and they were called the "wicked" party. (Laughter). They were charged with making bad harvests, or at least they were the promoters of them, they made nefarious wars, they were robbers of other countries, and whatever happened to mankind now was supposed to be done by the Conservatives. If this, or any other fraction of it were true, it would be a very serious matter indeed—(hear, hear)—but he be- lieved it to be untrue. He would just make a few remarks on these various points. First of all they were said to be promoters of nefarious wars. When Russian aggression on Turkey was threatened two or three years ago, it represented very much the state of affairs of 1853, when the Liberals were in power. (Cheers). At one period the Liberals were in power, in the other the Conservatives. In 1853, in the time of Lord Palmerston, the country was allowed to drift into one of the most extensive and bloodiest wars, viz., the Crimean War. It cost 90,000,000 sterling, and perhaps hundreds of thousands of lives were lost. Russia was driven back for a time, but only until 1873, when she again began her old policy of aggression, and indeed the state of things was quite as threatening as in 1853. (Hear, hear). But the Government did not plunge them into war, but had maintained a European peace— (cheers)—and not a sinude life had been sacrificed in Europe in resistance to Russia, and instead of spending ninety to a hundred millions, the present Government had only spent six millions, part of which had not abso- lutely been spent, because it had added to the stock of ships and stores, &c. (Cheers). It seemed to him that this charge came with sinubrill grace from a Ministry who were in power in 1853. He could give them other instances, but at that late hour he would not occupy their time at great length. The Afghan war was very reluc- tantly undertaken, and was absolutely necessary. (Hear, hear). It was necessary that they should make a barrier to Russian aggression, and it was also necessary that the honour of England in the East be vindicated. (Cheers). The Ameer willingly allowed a Russian Envoy, and surely he should have received one from the greatest power in the world. (Hear, hear). In regard to the Zulu War, whoever read the Blue Books would see that the Government wished to keep out of that war. They sent out instructions which had not been obeyed, and had they been the war would have been prevented. The governor of that country was a Liberal in politics, although no doubt he was chosen for his great merits. However, he a Liberal, and appointed by the Liberal Government, had dragged us into that war, and when once began we were compelled to carry it through. He thought, therefore, that the Government was not fairly chargeable with having brought about that war. (Cheers). Then they were accused of annexing other people's countries. As a Minister of the Crown stated the other day Afghanistan is not annexed, and Zulu- land is not annexed. We had indicated what we believed to be our rights, and we should be thankful if Afghanistan could govern itself. In Zululand a distinct system of Government had been set up, and there was no annexation in either place. In regard to the Transvaal and the annexation of the Fiji Islands the majorities which supported both these measures were not the ordinary Government majorities but much larger ones, including many of the Liberal members, and in the case of the Transvaal nearly the whole House. (Cheers). Well, what could be gathered from it except this, that we are right ? In regard to the Transvaal, as he had said, it did not rest entirely with the Conservative party, and so far as he recollected the same must be said of the Fiji Islands. If these things were wrong why did not the Liberal leaders oppose the annexation ? (Cheers). In regard to finance, a great deal of nonsense had been talked. (Hear, hear). They were charged with being ex- travagant. He wished to treat this subject most seriously, because, now that the country is poor, it was a great fault to be extravagant. All expense was not extravagance. (Cheers). They all knew that it was better to do a thing well at first and save expense hereafter, than to do it bad and in- efficiently and expend a lot more hereafter. (Cheers). When they heard persons drawing comparisons be- tween the expenditure of former Governmeits and the present, they should remember that there had been a great increase in the population. (Hear, hear). Pro- bably he should be safe in saying that there were two millions more now than when the Liberals were in power. They had more children, more policemen, and additional expense of all kinds, and on the other hand they had more income-tax-payers, more drinkers of tea, and sugar, more tobacco-smokers, and a larger revenue. There was nothing remarkable or astonishing in that. If persons who charged the Government with extravagance meant that the expenditure was greaterthan in 1873, then the statement was perfectly true, but if they meant and he thought, from the way they used the argument that they did mean so, that the amount of taxation got out of each individual was larger, then the charge was not correct. (Cheers). In dealing with that question they must remember that in revenue there were a great many things which did not come out of the tax payer, such as the revenue from Crown lands, contributions from India, sale of old stores, &c., and therefore in look- ing at what was charged on the tax payer the best plan was to put all those things on one side and simply reckon what came from the tax payer. Some people may say this was cooking accounts but his reply was that the plan was introduced by Mr. Childers and had been followed by eminent men since. (Hear, hear, and cheers). They would find that during the five years the Liberals were in office they raised from the sources of income he had mentioned, customs, excise, stamp duties, house tax, land tax, &c., the sum of £64,400,000 per annum. The Conservatives raised during a similar period an average of £65,700,000 per annum. If this sum were divided and averaged over the taxpayers it would be found that the Liberals raised £2 Os. lOd. per head, whilst the Conservatives only raised £119s. 9d. (Loud cheers). If people would not believe this, let them put it in a personal way and ask themselves what they paid under the two Governments. If they thought about it they would remember that under the Liberals they paid sugar duties, horse duty, a larger income-tax, &c. As Mr. Wynn had told them, during the first year the Conservatives reduced the income-tax and sugar duty, and now there was no horse duty—(cheers)—and there was less in other respects. (Hear, hear). Since then there had been a very slight addition made to the in- come-tax, a little extra had to be paid by the smoker of cigars, and a small tax had been put on puppies. Looking at the figures, and judging from their personal experience, they would see that the taxes were not in- creased. (Hear, hear, and loud cheers). Looking at the peculiar circumstances of the time, the great diffi- culties of last year, bad harvests, and the extreme de- pression of trade, together with the threatened aggres- sions of Russia, he thought they would agree with him that the Conservative Government were not justly chargeable with increasing the taxes of the people. (Cheers). But there was another view of the case. Even if they had increased the taxes, the question was whether they did not get more for their money. (Hear, hear). Now they had a navy, wnich was a match for any two navies of foreign Powers, and it was also well found in stores and other things, which would enable them to go into war at once. They had a greater number of ships and a more efficient service altogether than when the Government took office. (Hear, hear, and cheers). But was it quite the thing, whether they were poor or rich, to judge of the merits of the Government by [ whether they charged them a halfpenny or penny more taxes? (Cheers). Had they not a little pride in the past history of England? Were they to abandon their position, and crouch to a despotic power, to save a halfpenny more taxes? (No, and loud cheers). He said no, and believed they would support that Govern- ment which, without fearing Foreign Powers, was determined to hand down to future generations that great heritage of power and liberty which they had re- ceived from their forefathers, and if so, he was quite sure of the result of the next election for Montgomery- shire. (Loud cheers). The Rev. W. WILLIAMS (Vicar) addressed the meet- ing in Welsh, his speech being received with much ap- plause. Captain MYTTON (Garth) addressed a few words to the meeting. He said he had come there to support Mr. Charles Wynn, and show so far as he could that he had some old friends in the county. (Hear, hear). They had had the Eastern Question tolerably well thrashed out, but he would ask them to remember that their statesmen, Lord Beaconsfield and Lord Salisbury, accomplished a great task at Berlin, and came back honoured by their countrymen. (Hear, hear). They showed themselves to be statesmen, and able to fight with the statesmen of the whole continent. (Cheers). After speaking on other topics he said that although known as a bigotted Tory he was a thorough free trader, and it would be the greatest madness to talk of restriction whilst their millions of people were de- pendent on supplies from abroad. (Cheers). In con- clusion he asked them to return Mr. Charles Wynn to Parliament at the next election, in preference to an alien, and a stranger who had come amongst them with a bag full of money, seeking a seat in the House of Commons, but who knew but little of anything of their real wants and interests, and probably cared but little about them. (Cheers). Mr. OWEN S. WYNNE, on rising to say a few words, was loudly cheered. He said he had but little to say to them, but before the meeting separated he should like to ask them this question. What had Mr. Charles Wynn not done that the electors for the county of Montgomeryshire should wish to get rid of him after he had served them faithfully for seventeen years? (Cheers). What had Mr. Stuart Rendal done to justify him to take the seat which Mr. Wynn now holds ? (Cheers). Mr. Rendal was a perfect stranger to him, which he believed he was also to them—(hear, hear)—and what were his special qualifications to represent a county like theirs, which, with the ex- ception of a small district, was a purely agricultural one ? Was Mr. Rendal, who was connected with the manufacturing interest, a fit and proper person to repre- sent that great county ? He could only say that if they would examine the list they would find that Mr. Charles Wynn, since he had represented them, had hardly ever been absent from a division. (Cheers). He had not perhaps made long speeches but he would venture to say that his time had been quite as well taken up in attending those divisions as if he had been making long speeches. (Hear, hear, and cheers). He knew he was addressing a meeting composed largely of tenant farmers and those farming their own lands and he ventured to say that the interests which they especially had lay in those subjects which directly or indirectly touched agricultural matters. (Hear, hear). There were some subjects which were directly connected with the farmers, and one was the present heavy rates which they had to pay in addition to their rents and which in seality formed a second rent. He ventured to say that the rents did not press so heavily on the farmers in bad seasons, such as they had had, as did the heavy rates which seemed to be increasing year by year, and which were heavy burdens upon them. (Hear, hear). Many of these rates were put on by the Liberal party, and the education rate and the sanitary rate pressed j more heavily than any other, and all the farmers were grumbling at the heavy rates imposed upon them, He may say that Mr. Charles Wynn was naturally interested in his constituents, and if there was any fault to find with the present Government, or any wants they wished expressed, he was quite sure he would lend a willing ear to their com- plaints, and if necessary represent such to the House of Commons. He could not think they i would allow Mr. Stuart Rendal, a perfect stranger to them, to take the place of Mr. Wynn in Parliament. j He had just taken a house in Montgomeryshire, and he was trying hard to be made a member for the county, but he did not think he cared much for their interests. He had brought a bagful of money with him, and he hoped he would spend it, but to no avail. (Hear, hear, and cheers). Their worthy Vicar had said that if Sir Watkin and Lord Powis were to sell their estates to- morrow the rents would in all probability be doubled by the new proprietor. (Hear, hear and cheers). He thought the farmers were proud of their old landlords, and his experience was that when a farm was held by a gentleman coming from a distance, the tenant's rent was generally raised to such an extent that he could not afford to pay it. With these few remarks he would sit down, venturing to think that Mr. Chas. Wynn would be returned again as heretofore, member for Montgomeryshire, and that they would be satisfied with their choice, as they always had been. (Loud cheers). IR. C. W. W. WYNN, M.P., briefly moved a vote of thanks to Major Dugdale for presiding which was carried unanimously, and having been responded to, the meeting broke up with cheers for Mr. Wynn and other gentlemen.

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