Cheshire Observer

MR. YERBURGH AND THE SHOP ASSISTANTS. SUPPORTS EARLY CLOSING. lh,e Chester tehop Assistants' and Clerls Union have submitted, through their hon. secre- tary (Mr. W. POHY), the following letter to both candidates in Cliester:Ilii view of the practical failure of t.he Shop Hours' Act, 1904, to effect any improvement in the early closing of shops, my committee havo instructed me to ask yon to bo good enough to answer the following question — Will you prose, at the first, opportunity, for the enactment of compulsory legislation for the clos- ing of shops—(a) on oiw. day in each week, at or before one oclock in tho afkrnooo; and !b) on three ot-her days in each week, at or before seven o'clock in tho evening; and (0) iJl1 ono other day in each week, at or before nine o'clock in the evening; and (d) on one other day. in m-li week, at. or before ten o'clock in tho evening." Mr. Yerburgh, in reply, wrote as follows:—. Grosvenor Hotel, Cheeifcr, January 13th, 1906. Dear Sir,—As a supporter of the earlier closing of shops, I regret to learn, that the Act of 1904, from which po much was hoped, has been a failure. With regard to legislation on the lines of compulsion ind.icn.t-od in vour questions, I do iiat think it would be. good policy to plveo re liaixo upon a Bill which might no^r roach second reading, and which, even ;f -t die, voii'ii certainly meet, with opposition strong ei'ough to prevent, its passing into law. My experience teaches mo that tho best, way to irfeuro the pass- ing of a moafure in whr h one is interested, is to get. the subject with which it deals investigated by a Committee of the House. The case can be 1 plao-'d fully before such a Committee, the mem- bers of which are able to satisiy themselves as! to the neocssity for legislation to deal with it by caret in and close examination of the witnesses who appear before them. Their report contain- ing tho evidence and embodying their recom- mendations is plared before the House and ttiel public In this way one is enabled, to got stronger backing, and to brl!g pi-(,ifire to bear j upon tho Government. This is tho cour-e I fol- lowed my-elf with regard to the Usury Question. I had a private enquiry conducted into the whole matter. I then placed the result before the Government and sncc-?fd?d, a.Ir b()m time, in obtaining a Committee of t.h? HouM to e'tquirc into it. 'Thdr rfp<nt disc)o.,?d a state of Aifairs so prejudicial to the poorer classes that the. Government had no )Pt:on but to bring- in a Bill to amend the Jaw dealing with Usury, under the I provisions of which relief has been given to th«| viot,Yiiz; of usurers, among other places, in Chefcter itself. T would venture to s i i o s t, then that your best course is to press for the appointment, of a. Par- 1 amentary CommWteW to conduct anI enquiry j into tho working of thi) Shop HOurB Act of 1904, j with a view to making it, effective by such amend- j men is as may be found n(,F ]-V, If to Parliament I would gladly undertake the duty of urging the appointment of such a committee.— I remain, dear sir, vonrs fa:thfuilv ROBERT YF.R BURGH Mr Mond repired n« fo:!ow-071) B'i') k- Buildings, Tho East gate, Cbeife: January 12ih,j 1906 Dear Sir,—Mr. Mond that owhg i to the. great pivjwtire of businefs at this time W has been unable to answer vour letter of the 10th instant 'before. He ain.horis-s rw\ however to say t hat he is thoroughly in svr.iDathy with your object,- and he will most certainly support- any Bill whkh will be of benefit to Shop ¡¡n'l'. shcnld ho b0 r"turJ1<?d to Parliament — Yours faithfully, M. CURTIS-BENNETT.

I THE PRINCIPLES OF VOTING. Th R.-r:? of PlemstaH (the Rev W. S 'JO'!1:I) I on Sunday, pleaching on th ?o?)? fct tho d?y. sa.id t,hat the pO-Œion of a vote was & ao?mn responsibility ofr the use of which each <? wou)d be caUcd to a^xount- A maH w? ??und to exerciso it for tsjie glory of God and the gocd I of his fellow-mem. It seemed to hum that too I many of the maLsees of this country, in their destitution and distress, in their squa'or and! desolation, were crying out as the men of GalliiCPv "Wo ha-Vo no vviIR, It was tlx? duty of blectois to aim at racing up the people and removing j those evils which held 'in. How to! provid-o the best and most eicnat ,j fortn of ethi- j cation Jiow to Supply vvbofesoino «^vfellings Ind cheorTul Surroundings; how to rIN-e- <unploynient j to tJioao able and willing to work, were the most pres»jn^ of all qtsc6tious of tho day. It. tliouid tJÕ& a -nmtter of gravb coniidei-aljon T^frethef sohWt thing Could not be dor.o to lives, to mingle something of sweetness and glad- tieos with f.w. bitterness and joblessness of thoio: lot, to --eiiabli tlieii ii,t only to have h s'uppt'v d bare necessit e^, but of the better, liiglsor, fiiUer I life signified by tho --wil-.Ic the heart of man,"

I DISFIGURING A GRAVESTONE REMARKABLE CASE AT CKRSTER ■ I i At Chester Police Court, 011 Monday, an ia" d man, named Ed Tboniaa, residing fat Ociuw!ij ¡ court, Handbrdg?, Chester, was cirargT-d •with.' unlawhtUy doing damage to the extent of £ l to I a gr, avtstdiie in Chester Cemeteiy, tfoe prop.-i ty of Henry Jones, on the 8t.. instant. H co .pleaded guilty. John Edward Griffiths, superintendent, of Chester Cemetery, deposed that about a. week j ago ttv dfcflendiuit camo to him n.1tdoompJa.i.ried I that ft gravestorte jn the eernciery hed the iiaMie of Jonee )n it, w hereas he conitendrdvit s&oulfl 'b? T?a!<?.AboHt twelve m-MUhe ago aefMtdaHt's wife, Mary Ann Tttoms??a-sbuy,? in t.1 !ue- t?ry, and the nam? "JD!i?s" w'" 'tMcr?d on I the store, that. be.Tig the name of her first bus- ?nd. Wit?te? told dcfMtdant it w&s a family aSair and he CQuld not int-crfcr?. Defendant said h?' s-tMujd-com?in to tJM '?c'?iary a the Cea?- «ry Comp:tay. a?d he did *0. Wit)?? b' no more of the matter until -Monday iast. wbcsM I one of the M" mptoyro in the (t*M?t<et'y dtew j b'e a?t?H?oa t? ?e fact That th? i4a.iiio had bo-m hammored out. of the -ra. *A ti & hMnnnK?-or b!tiNt ?strtmtent? <.he oDèhè;J1g pl'aohœHy spoildl Deœssed, be ?t?hpd, h?d' bwn twice carried..Jo:? be ng t.h? :KMtM o'f:t;1 t}]?t ht?band, and Thomas <thc dpff.ttdanT) aiti I of th? second. H?nn Jf. ?? son of thc, d?ca<?dj by her 6Ht husband, bought th? gtavc and <*ho stone, arid'paid for everything, defendant •eofttri-j bnting nothMg io?'?rds thp w-t. Defendant: Her nam? was T??M. and she isi my wire. The Ma?istratM' C?rk Y011'Ca:f be the: husband of a woman who }s d. Defendant: Well, I am her kite husband, and:' ebatwt it. (Lai?ht?r)  Mrs. Jones, daughter of the dece-aeed wsrnari, said the grave belonged to her husban. wj» too iil to appear to give eviderrc*? in this ease. The Chief Constable s* <) d-'feBdaut ,W t IV,! woman were heri -deat«h, s:):d that was why iho sHno WA13 wiU) the name Jones on it i Defendant said he disfigured t-he iwme on the| stone because h;.4 late wife was ooriedin tho name of Jortee, and on her coffin and, death ter- tificate the name was Thorna.s. ■ j Thie Chief -Co»-?ta.ble said ih-e ckfendan esme1 over from Trail mere Worklx>us€—of whiah he; had been an inmate—specially to do this. Defencfanit \ca fined oosts, and wasf ordircd to paytIie damage, or sufFeV fourteen: days' imprisonment wit,hout labour f Defendant- • Thank you, but- I will not pay CM: farthing. The Magjistrates' Cie-rlr. All j-ight get ii;«ide.j (Lsughter) 1

DIZZINESS AND PAFN 1 CURED BY VENO'S TOIL,'ICI. I CHARLES SQUIRES, Esq., 71, Park-street, Rothcrham. writes:—"I am very to write you respecting m? wife's health. Fo?r mOiTtW &go was troubled very muoh ".th pain in 'I 'I ,p .,tn in i ie, back and ?izzinese in t? hea<). t induced her to tkQ 'Vetio?s Seaweed Tonic, wMch "ho ?id'an(i wh?H ?c had t&kcn Uiree botti?, 6.ho wu a? different wom&n RJtOg??Mr; in fact. After the; third dn&c, the p&in in the "bads Md gone. 'She' has told many nd?bour? aboat it." I Vno's Seaweed Tonic is guaranteed to jx;r- m&nenHy c?ro all ailments arising from a ^.ioeaAed condition of the stomach, liver, Mdncye &nd 'b?bed, ?uoh Mmdi?c?tton, wind, Waggish liver, weak-and painful back, dizzin?M. !Ma?<M)he. kiJtMy ?roub)?. drop?y an d f('mal weakness, and is especially goo<l, for ?FpniQ constipation and dobU?y. Pn?c L? ?2?-' and 3$. 3d,, at Oh?m?ts cverywhel?- '^i K

THE EDDISBIJRY ^OSTEST. VIEWS ON AGRIOUEfl'RE. r PRACTICAL ADDRESS TO FARMERS. Colonel Cotton-Jodreil on Satufd add.re«:ed the members of the Chester FafisieV5-^ Club in the 1. C,lub ?ii t.?lie Newgate-street Assembly Rooiil^ yortwifgricultural questions. Mr. Lewis Dodd, ohair^an, of. the club, presided, and there were p to the Colonel Mrs. and Miss Coitop-Jodreil. Mr. Henry To'.lemache, Major laèGiH>2ùd!¡1y, Thomas Smith, Robert Barbour, J. W. M.cne, J. M. Froisf, W. Carbtair,s Jones, Walter' C. Rich- mond, F. E. Roberts, C. E. Linaker, jun., E. Dean. R Fearnall, W. Feaniall, G. a. W. H. Nightingale, Tom L. Dodd. John JDickwn, J. Dale, Rowe Morris, W. Shepherd# J.. Chailinor. ft. T. Wickham, T. Lee Okell, W./Toft, J. F. Pickering. S. hervvii:, T. Lea, R, Peacock, R. r. Mor gan, G .'enson, Hassa.ll, T. Prince, J. j Phillips, W, .1. Robert (Tryddyn); T-1: Sweten- | ham, A. S. Gas-kel), P. Allen, Waitoi- Harrison, S. j Hoi-ton, J. Horton, T. Parker (TarvinY, C. Shaw. R. Lunt, J. Maher, J. Davies (IbØg), H eywood (C-hristleton), R. Allwood, F. AllwVxxt Sadler, J. Gerrard, W E. Phillips, W. Bcecm.,f4 T. Fox, R. Lunt, Arnold Sherwin, W. Carter; J. Morris, G. Denton, James Maddock, John Mfddock, J ) Blake, T. Buckley, T. Davies. H. Denson W Oharnlley, tPoulton). T. Shaw (Halton). Stanley Smith, J. J. Roberta, -T. Maddock. T. I Christopherson, R. Parry, Nt)h: Parker. T. Boilen, T Jeft'erson, T. J. Duttort ^O'et'ary). etc. The Chairman, n calling upon Cofon'ei Cotton Jodreil to address the meeting, fes^ecl hrirt to ex- press his opinion en the present i-e^rtction of the importation of store cattle into tliis:ooo-zitry. Colonel Cotton-J.){!rcn. ,L,) wft8 ,(?0fdial!y re- t ceived, expressed his plea- ^e at noting them, and said he had received a number of questions from Mr. Dot ton. their secretary^ to which he would give his answers. All the .questions had been before the Cheshire Chamber of Agriculture, and he had iven his complete adhesion to t-li-ein all. (Hear. The first question was Are you in favotti- of die Dogs Bill., anti ins answer k- as "Yes." Then he was asked if, He was in favour of the Sale of Butter Bill, as .amended by the Grand Committee in 1903, except clause 2 of tho Bill of that year, which made an< exception in ¡ favour of Irish salt firkin butter. "To that his answer was "Yes." The next quett^n was with regard to local taxation, and he wafs in 'favour of I "(a) That a permanent and lye I measure be passed, giving adequat«ffel"i<ef from the excessive and unfair burdens at ppffient imposed upon agriculture, and until this be done-that the Agricultural Rate* Act be continued, (b) That steps be taken to remedy the anois^ies disclosed by tho first report of the Royal Commission on Local Taxation of Dec. 16, 10S3, 'aird^eipeciaHy to provide one uniform assessment for .4bll. purposes, both Imperial and local. To ù., he .replied "YeA" (Applause.) With regard to the A?ri- cultural Rate6 Act, he had from ibe very first I been a steadfast supporter of that AifV (Cheers.) The passing of that Act- and the renewal of it in tho Houe;e of Commons by the Ctyouist Govern- ment had met with the most bitier 04>poi?ition I from the Radical party, but he was quite sure from what he had heard t.lirotig b,outa )a at the various agricuIturaJ associations in the debates of which he had taken paA? that the Act had taken a firm hold upon the ?eel??& of the farmers of Cheshire, because tlie.y feTt it. was one of great benefit to themselves. (BeAr. hear.) He thought they should be very careful rn their atti- tude as regarded Mr. Stanley. If they desired to I fiupport, him they should remember hie attitude towards this Act. In the first instance he opposed I the Act, but he (Colonel Jodreil) supposed a little i mora l pressure was brought to bear/upon him, and he said now he would'support the Act' tf renewed by his party until there was a g'f>nf:raf. rearrange. ment of the whole .system of local taxation. He (Colonel Jodreil) was a supporter iof the Act through thick and thin. (Loud appiHUfc.) Mr. Tollen^ache had interested hini.self. iii the matter, and had obtainedifgureefrom the LocaJ^ofernmeiit Board as to the amount of nioiel paid in Cheshire to the farmers out of the natichai'"exchCquer On account of the relief afforded I-) V' t4i 111 t ii r A I Rates Act. The money Came T&.Ae- S-ery con- siderable sum of £ 35,000 a year, ^f ;,t7iey wanted to pfey any hanky-pAnky with- the Act. they would do it at the risk of lo*in§\4&& £$5,000 a year. (Applause.) With regard to the importa- tioh of Canadian or other ito re er,lic was of opinion that the present be oon- tinued. They knew far better than he the grave risks that' might be^un and the -"C-,ftAvt that might be incurred once more if con- ■ sented to the importation of this ca,(tTo. He was further asked if he was in favour of the prohibi- tion of the use of preservative? -a#if dblouring matters in milk, and to that h'hs- -He was also asked < f, in order^to prevent, the adulteration of butter with nwrgarfWi*. hfe favoured the introduction of «oir,-e innocwou>tf.n<x; which would reveal it* presence, «nd ii The prooibition of tlie use Of in mar garine To th(\"O ÜŒbons e.:i(>¡; ,.y I' I With respeci- to the fraudulent--Wlo of foreign f fiaeat, he was asked, if in ihe b«th pro clinkre and consumers he faroureil •>e^M-tration of all retail vendors of importedHefikT-nJeat and the clear marking- of all fcuch meat. He replied to that wkhedto ps £ &>bu £ that he j'was a member of the Select CbmnMtiee appointed by the House of Commons ooellqniœj.]]to the eub- ject some few years ago. The tifxt question had reference to tuberculosis, and wS$\ divided under the following he«ds ■ (a) That. pcfKiiag the report of the Royal Commission on tuberculosis now fitting, Ho further powers -,hoiLildttgi-*bii Vo local authorities by public 'or local Ac&rt|>'6t&l with tuberculous milk or meat: (b) That when the sepwt ? issued the question .sjjtoilWrculkJws should be the subject of ge-,icrai iezqstotiob intro- duced by the Government and appiicab.e to the whoi1 country, and should not be dealt with by private Bills of municipal or oiluer :urban authori- ties; (c) that in anylegation deaijngjv'itli tuber. culosis due provision be made for cor pensation out of the imperial exehequcr in reepect of tuber- culous animals or carcases slaug or seined in the public interc«t. His neply fu th ose ques- tions was '"Yes." He was .aekcd.;i £ ,he: favoured the amendment of the exiting of trespass particularly in the direction of providing for the protection of products which, though of natural growth, were of a marketable character, and his answer was "Yes. With regard tb the Agricul- 1 eHltur&J HohiingaActa. he wa?a-sked.? he favoured their coii?olidatioyi. tti4l lie r4cl)li?-d of opinion that It would bo moot &Jva?stb1c to have the whole of the Acts .placed in on<i on) nib us Vill With regard to railway rates. tltít "pbihts put tot li5in Avero (a) That the granting 'By l ^^way com- Ini, of prcr<:rentld rat<? an'? ?c<?t*ca ,'TT fo?isn reduce be ?bso-'utcly ptcblVihpd, and that the Bo-?rd df Tt'ade be cmpowpr??'? d Instructed to enforce the !aw. lb) Tht mo.? rca?'y ineaus be ppo\'idfd for obta.mLMg the rr?tH'tio? of un- "tfeaisbttabfo rates on English prodpfre:1 His allSwer was. "Yes." Ift "was irfso asked rf ^hef'fsJi-tiured a M-adjij,.atti,i,cni, Of the beer duty by"% function :1) the dii-ty on beer bre'fr&d "billy fiom n(\Y-Ma.1t fcrtd hop* and the ad^^dfi ,t>f "a iln, amount on er containing »jiy for barley-malt or hope. He repUed-4o that "Y es Mis ■ heàltily approved of aNy "h;ch might conduce to. t h-l-, pi irity of W EiigHsh| people were to drink bøer, let them -have it good > and not -jx»eo«oos stuff (Hear, hn#1. He was I nt>txt a.sked if he approved of of agrieuitural weights-and ^ii^u^hout • the country, and he replied "Yes." He had reo ii ?ved & letter from & ?cnt?m? ak ?BK?etton | ? siting that a. farmer had told 'h? .?? wit(>.t) 1 that he wa,s much excreted 1n his mind as to ti,? j effcot a 26. duty on foreign com. wijold haw ou 1 feeding stuffs. He (Col. Cot-ton-Jiodrell) would ask them to listen to some facts bearing on the- qU:Oll, III the -fimmcia] year --3a Is. tax. on wheat produced £ 2,346,000. Ifie >alHe of im- ported wheat in that year was twenty-seven mil-J ions, and of imported Sour r-ino aaiiliocis. As j regarded milling, in 1372 there ifiire sixty-two million cwts. of British milled Hour, '"whereas i the imported milled flour wa.-§ O)IIY f I million pwt. In 1901. twenty years ^liffettgh the British milled 'flour had risen to xfj-nlnc mil- Ion cwt., the imported foreign miiled flour had 146&h from four miHion cwt. to'twenty-Twe and a half miWion cwt. In 1962 the Bi'itffSrifririlcel flotir had increneed to t-nd a litgf mil- non cwt., w-hd-^as til-0 had fallen to nineteen and ti half ntfflvfyn-^wt. The in tlie British milled Siwil'-Sih 002 due. to the Is. duty, which brought more whole 'gnifcin fni6 'country, ;ai*d gawfe ttipk&vd to our milling industry. (IliS&fj r The foreigner, it was important to nttid. sent us more riot withstanding tlie to \in Y ,j With b"tift'teMMg -eWifi I question which had been raised by his ccrw?-spond- ent, and in respect to offals, it seemed a reason- able supposition that- bran, sharps and pollards wcuJd come down at ]e,t;.r 4d. to 6d. in the Is., were we to obtain from our Colonies the wheat, etc., tthi. h ihey were willing to supply, in-tead of our obtaining from the United States the ground (lour without tho offals, which offals were kept in the Statts and treed to feed the live stock; which were- u'timatciy dumped upon our markets in the same way that. the flour was. Moreover, it stood to rcA'on that if our homo supply of offai.s were lnrgliv added to by the wheat offals from the Colonial grown gram, the price of offals gener- ally must come down. (Applause.) As regarded other feeding stuffs, rice and rice meal would come from the East Ind;e,s free, and cattle cake would come from India free, while linseed cake and cotton cake came from Europe and the United States. He did not think it likely that th-o talter two -articles, as being in the nature of raw material lo the faimer, would have a duty impos'd on them. He should oppose the impo- sition of a duty upon them. Supposing, however, they looked at the worst, side of the case, and there was a duty imposed, it would not be more than 10 per cent., and as the quaartrty of cotton Seed cake and linseed cake imported was com-para- lively small, being about £ 2,409.000 worth, a 10 per cent, duty would mean £ 240.000 to the Exchequer, ■ and if the consumer had to pay the whole of that, which was very doubtful, it- would mean an addition of 13s. 9d. per ton. That was the \vo:*t- sido of the case he could put before them, but they should remember that if the price, of feeding stuffs was h.'gher, as was sug- gested in the letter of his correspondent, we had during the period of the Is. duty no power to hit i them Hi k The duty was levied on ail impcited wheat, foreign or Colonial, so our Colonies had no stimulus to supply us, such as was proposed under the system of letting Colonial oora in free of duty. Summing up, lie argued that the 1902 duty was not a true test-, because it applied to all imported corn, but even that duty for the eolitai-v, tw-elvo months gave a push to mining and offals. It also brought in two and a quarter [ millions to the Exchequer. He was of ot>:n;on that, under tho proposed scheme of admitting Colonial imports free the milling industry would be stimulated and offals would be cheaper. AH. rice and cake would be admitted from the Colonies free, while linseed and cotton cake should be treated as raw material for the farmer, but if a duty were imposed it would not raiso the price moio than 13s. 9d. per ton. (Hear, hear.) In. appealing to them for support he asked them to think for themselves whether during- the 25 years he had lived among them he had been able to. obtain knowledge, such as a layman could ob tain, sufficient to enable him to be of service to that great- agricultural constituency. (Applause.) • Mr. Toll°inaohe, in asking them to eive thcir hearty support to Colonel Cotton-Jotfrei), said they had in him a candidate who understood the wants of an agricuituraJ community, and if they did him the honour of returning him to Parlia- ment he would work in the future as he had done in the last 25 years for the interests con- nected with the land without any wish or hope for reward. (Applause.) He had not a word to "ay against their oppoHe?t, but he thought. Mr. Stanley oYer. rated the fb)g that he thought Was p?,??valent on landed eslat?es in the country. He did not believe the stories that had been- told i Mr. Stanley of tenants who had been refused farms because of tho-.r pbl-tica.1 or religious belief. -lie did not belief that state cf affairs exited (Applause.) He (Mr. Tollemache) and members of his family had had something to do with'' landed property, and he had never heard cf any distinction being made with regard to religious! cr political feeling in the choice of tenants. (Loud applause.) Mr. Stanley mtide a etroog j point, on his posters at any rate, with regard 'to I the return of the labourer to the "land. He (Mr Tollema-che) would welcome a. condition cf affai' <* 'which would admit of a far larger number cf la.boirrers going back 'to t-he land, but. he (Fd not j think it desirable that such a state cf affairs should. be brought about by uneconomic and impossible rneuns. (Applause.) He looked on these schemes Tif garden cities and all the rest of it with the- most sympathetic interest, but he thought as i practical idea." they would have TIO chance of ,sLicme%, Ile wanted to see more labourers with! -.sniall holdings, or three acres and a cow, which j was the salvation of this part of the country, but iha thought, the greatest obstacle wae not. the] ;landlord or the farmer, it was the impossible 1 system of building bye-laws, which were now the rule in this country. (Applause.) They could j not. expect a landlord to put up cottagers' build- j iings when he -,must.. do it absolutely iat ft loss, and this loss was inevitable on j account of the absurd restrictions. Good as; these restrictions might be in urban districts ,thcy were utterly out of place when they had to; deal with a rural community. (Applause.) He II wanted to see more labourers back on the land, but he wanted them ba,c:k under conditions which would g-ive them a fair chance of success, and a ■ fair chance of being able to hold their own. p I conclusion he contrasted the in- experience of Mr, Stanley in agricultural matters with the wide knowledge possessed by Colo u.34 .Cotton-Jodreil. I i Mr. J. Bceeroft described Colonel Cotton- Jodr^l! as the right man in the rightplac.e, and the best compliment they could pay their latt, ,member, Mr. Tollemache, would be by returning i .the Colonel at the head of the poll. (Applause.) Thcv had heard the Liberals descrIbed the Agricultural Rates Act as a. sham and humbug, but it was what tho. farmers required. (Applause.) In fad, they required a g-l"'llt deal more; but if it had not been for the hit? Government they would not have had the relief tho Act granted at all. He (Mr. Bee- croft) had had the pleasure of working On com- mitters andméeting Colonel Cot ton-.Jodreil for the last twenty years and be knew perfectly well ihat no one, outside the fswrnene themselves, was so we41 acquainted with their requirements, or who had done moro to further their interests- (Applause.) Colonel Gottoo-Jodreil was more- over a tried member of Parliament. If the farmers of WirraJ had had their way Colonel Crtton-Jodrell would have been the member for Wirral etill. (Applause.) The question, how- tiveri wal.4 a delicate one for him to enter into, lie asked them to shew thai they appreciated the work Colonel Cotton-Jodrell had done for them by returning him at the head of the pell. (Applause.) In conclusion he proposed a vote of thanks to Colonel Cotton-Jodreil for his address. Mr. Thomas Smith (Blacon) seconded amd said Colonel Cotton JodtreH had answered the ques- tions put to him in a manly, straightforwa-rd and able way, and he merited the vote of every member of the Farmers' Club. He (Mr. Smith) hopfd the Co orel would be returned aft tho head of he poll by a thumping majority, (Loud ap- plause.) The proposition was heartily carried, and ou the proposition of Col. Cotton-Jodrell, seconded by Mr. Tolleiiioche, the chairman was thanked for presiding. RADICAL CANDIDATE'S VIEWS. I A MISUNDERSTANDING. 1 Afterwards the Hon A. Lyulph Stanley, the Radical candidate for TSddisbury, met the mem- he rs of the Club gt Bishop Lloyd's Pa-'ace, Watergate-street. Mr. L w s Dodd presided. At tie outset it was found that Mr. Stanley had not brought with him the list of questions. He adiiiitred' "havi-ig received & list of questions from Mr. Dutton, the t'cere- tary, but had understood that the secre- tary would bring an extended list wi-th him' To :sh*i £ tnf £ etii|g. Mr. Dutton, wb<), -.ri-iNed later, he expected Mr. Stanley to bring the printed (jiiest ins with him. Mr. Suintey 'assured the m<yfing thø it was through 4 nfiau?der&tsnd?g and not v.ith any intcnt-io? of burking any qu(>.s 11 ? Uon th&t he hed not brought the list. The ? I 'f ] e Chair n van expressed the club's satis fact* on with Mr. Statjiey's explainet-on and invited him to giva theiw a short address. Mr. Stanley thanked them for the opportunity of doing so, ancl pro- ceeded to state that he was a Free Trader and a,s suck he coald not vote in favour of exc-duding- illlpGXtg of -stora cattle; ,but if the Board of Agriculture after animpariial inqu ry found tibat. it was nooessary to oxclude these imports to prevent disease, he was prepared to ag?,ee to that cxpodbnt. He was prepared to give full com- pensation to tenant frrniers for any improve- ments they effected qn their hol&age. He be lieved it "was to the .advantage of the cow;try iT-.a& the system, of small holdings should-be largely, extended,. but he vres not in favour of ii-Dall homings bG!ng prov-ded at the cxpe'?c of the ratepayers generally. Tbeyought to be pro\d?d through the agency of He Distric* Counens or pos?blytbe County t?unc&Is, and the ?utei'?st On th? money borrowed should be payable out df the rents obtained. He,w*s-??c'n!'a\-ouro! ?n??H'hg Rural Councils with '?w?r to ?bu'ld C'Ot'8 Rura l C W* \thioh .they might destroy cn insanitary grounds, tshe 'X:t.t: to be charged to the landowners; he believd the landowner had a duty to perform to t,h. L ;¡d, and if he was unwilling to do so he ought in t., compelled. He was not in favour of giving ? letting of such cottages ir.to the hands oif the fvrmer. He did not think that itiost far- thers wcu'd use the power of letting these cot- tge tyrannically, hut there was the pcesibihty ,\1 of tho right of ictting being used in order to beat clown the wages of the agricultural labouv:i'. Any cottages erected by 11. Distr-ct I Council ought not in any way to be a c-huge on the rates. He would not support the public build ng -of cottages to be let at unremunerative ¡ rates fo agricultural labourers or anyone else. (Ilea hear.) In his election address he had said that intended to ask for regions and political freedom in connection with the land. (Àlood Cotton-Jodrell had 6t1.:d that he did not under- stand what he (Mr. Stanley) mea.'it. He (the j speaker) asked any fair-minded man whether there were not oases where influence was brought to bear to compc]. a man to be a Conservative! and tlifre might be other cases; where iilkunce was brought to bear to oompel a ma.? to be a RahcaJ. The civil rights of a man should be protected. With regard to t,he Agri I'llta; al Rates Act. he was in favour of the' the Act until the system of rating; was -o altered as to get at sources of income at j present iiavai I able. Where abe-as.t was slaugh- tercd n the interests of the public and proved to be tuberculous he would not give Wilipelisa- tion. 3t seemed to h:m it was not easy to draw a dit ¡ ";r io: between s'aughtering tuberculous dattle and s'aughtering dogs suffering from rabies. I It was a misfortune whkh fell on a. man. i Mr. Sherwin (Stapleford) and others pointed I «ut that t.he<rc was a great difference in the average prices of tte beast. aird the dog, ayid therefo;o in the loss to theta.rmer. I Mr. Stanley argued that the principle was the same- Mr. ^'lerwin ea:d that if farmers had to get. their !i\ ing"'through dogs they would scon be in' the v.orfe hoti.se. Mr. Shepherd (Aston-by-Suttcn): We don't want -tock compared with dogs. 2\1: Stanley complained that his friend was father unfairly attempting to misrepresent Content on. Asked what he would agree to in cas's where stock was = laughtered on suspioicn and proved not to be tuberculous, be said he thomhf it was right that eOmpensa-tion should b? CM n in such cases. Mr Stanley also said he was n favour of an amendment of the law of trespass, etc.—On the motion of Mr. Gasket, second ed Tiy Mt. Orion, and supported by Mr. j Minsjiiull. Mr. Stanley was thanked for hilS ad- dress. I

ENTHUSIASM AT AUDLEM. I GREAT UNIONIST MEETING. I On Monday evening three meetings were held j in the Nantn~c-h ei-d cf the Eddisbury Division ¡ in sopp.rt of Colon 1 Cotton-Jodrc-11, the VnioniH candidate. Mr. Henry Tollemache conducted a j tneeii. g in the Bridgmere Schools, where Sir Pelves xivbug-hton presided The candidate spoke tit the British Schools, Buertoll, the chà.;r being) taken l y Mr. Nunnerley. The speakers aftePj ivard's- itiet at Audlem, where the greatest of the three n citings tcok plac-e. People bèg-an to as- fc'mbU long before the time, and the large public hall \F1dd not hold all who desired to hear the lp6Ak<-r». Mr. John Nunnerley presided and on the platform were Colonel and Mrs. Cotton- Jod'.rH. -Jlr. and Mns. Henry Tollemache, Mr. oh1! :Ëmher tÓA, _Hr. E. R: Bellyse, and Mr. H. j L. CGwclv The Chairman, it rintrodueing the candidate, hient c;.ed his threat claims to 811 Rgrlculrural '1 {•.tiflience, and pointed out that he had already had gc-d practice as a legislator, when member for W lria!. Mr. Nunnerley declared that was no comparison between the two candidates when .their meiVs were weighed. Mentioning- i Home Rule the Chairman sad that before a man j voted Jo r 11 time Rute he ought to qualify by j-esid:ng in the Weer. of Ireland. (A Nvke "Hear, h ar, I agree with you." Laughter.) Jœ(e,-i"}:h to Chinœc ltabour the Chairman ar- gued it wr-:s--necessary. (A voice: "Why was not' Chinese Labour employed before the war broke •out'?"') Before-the war broke out there were a tuffie < n r. number of Kaffirs to work -n. the mines, hut diP'iasr the war the Kaffus liad been so well* ipaid lxth by British and Boers that they had, jearncd so much money that they would not work. J Interrupt ion.) Flxim communications ho had had personally from the Transvaal for -a long time past he could- bear Out the truth of the istateii-eKt that the Chinese had gene to South A f-ricit. to tie very good work. ("Why not get Hvbito i en to do the work ?' ) They were four or ;fi"-13 ;JCè as well paid as iii, their own country, cared for and guarded by constables formed ir^ni among themselves. Colonel Cott-cn-kdrell, who had a pleasing recapt oa; spoke ifrst en Chinese Labour, giving ihi* personal experiences in South Africa and with iChinamen. He sa;d he knew something about 'the Chinaman, because he had touched at various ;Port.s in China and he was perfectly c-eortain that if thnie was any slavery it was not due to the "Engl s'lman, bee rase the Chinaman was very astute and perfectly well able to take care of himself, and ni ;k> the best terms he could. His definit on of slavery was the condition of a man torn from his own country and forced willy-nilly to work for any employer who might require him, re- ceiving no wages but only a bare subsistence. Save thai the Chinese were carried in comfortable ships f:o:n their own country to South Africa there was no analogy at all betwocn the slavery ho had de-cribed and the indentured labour in the Trans\aai, As-to white men- doing the work t-lie liad been tried repeatedly and it had been found impossible. The "Unionists had tbeen araeked in the most shameless way over tllat quo lion, but cn the words the Radicals uspd six weeks ago they ought to haw abolished "slavery at once. From the ten-our of their speeches | one wo„ul have thought that nothing was so un- righteous Or so shameful as Chinese Labour. The Radicals were entirely oblivious of the or- dinanoj tii-y themselves sanctioned in British Guiana In 1894. -{Applause.) They had made a proxt^? for not doing anything because they could i c* do away with the present system of kcenccr. They could do away with it if they were. so futi c: RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION I by asking the country to pay compensation in the sani1 way as the country to her credit paid twenty millions for the freedom of the slaves in the West Indies. (Applause.) The Parliament and Government of this country was supreme all over i.se British Empire, and tl) -y might do away with the Chinese for fe considerably less sum than twenty million* if they were in earnest. As re- garded agricultural interests he (Colonel Cotton- Jod «li; could not possibly stand on that plat- form ud compete with a tenant farmer if they were 1, put one -up for that division. He was con.pe i:i:c with the son of a landowner, against whom he had nothing to say. They were on excellent terms with oach other, and he hid eever through the contest had an angry word with his I opponent. (Applause.) He Olie OOIOBCI) was, however, legitimately entitled to tell them this: If they wanted a man to represent them as re- garded v Til K3 R AGRICULTURAL INTERESTS. I 1113 thought he might claim that Irs 25 years' ex- peri onto must be worth something more than his 'opponent's oould be by fue simple-reflux of time. (Appla!■«?.) The Radical candidate had not been brought upm an agricilltu-r'sl, but as a barrister, and iciaras very lmlth yownger than himself (the spcnki-). H;s father had been a landowner only c..1;¡{;n¡, .1- cOttp'fe of years, and he (Colonel Cotton- Jcd- ;jj thought he anight claim—and he Appealed to all nsibie men on the point-tha.t lie might ibi to kmw something more of 1-he nerds and wants of an agricultural constituency than his opponent. (Applause.) Mr. Stanley had sta ,rl t at when his father came into the possDs- » c.i of his estate two years ago he gave his agent instructions never to bring influence to bear on titi j ligious or political feelings of his teaaats. Ho (tie Colonel) perfectly agreed in that course- it was a most nree llent thing, and he had given his agent precisely the same instructions 25 years age (Applause.^ At -another meeting Mr. St-auley had id.at "hi? fajnily had been men for 6BC years, and he thought there niiiih!- bo some value ia the tradition. He (Coio.iel Cotton-Jodrell) dd not think tl-_Ic i' I was much value in the tradition at, he did net think tbofe were lifia.;ii. peoplu tn the nudienco, and certainly not Liberals, who tittaohed vfry nuttih vatoe to the TWr.j?) icn. If it. FftnM to that question, lie oould: '-ay thf't both his Cottoii ancestors and h Jodl s had been en that ^bonk" considerably! As t-o. e- 11 c lb-t a rvv-n iiOtS". iltfg toirifluce Him to cliaJsge .j ,his Opinions s'neo Home Rnie had been started, and he had been bitterly opposed to It then. (Applause.) He had always thought it would be a source of untold danger to have a hostile Government in Ireland which was such a short distance from England. Finally, Colonel Cotton- Jodrell exposed the tell-tale record of the new- Prime Minister from Majuba to his use of the famous "methods of barbarism" insult to our soldiers. Cordial as had b?en the Colonel's re'-op- tion when he commenced it was even greater when he sat down. Hie ■•letr. steady statement of lis views made a great impression, and the ap- plause was loud and long when he resumed li s seat. Mr. Ilenry Tofcmachc. who was greeted by the audience as an old friend, gave A, spirited ■-address. Referring first of all to the Prime! Minister, he sad the action of that gentleman had always been most- disastrous and opposed to t-he best interests of the country, and the way he had persstently gone against the British Army and Navy made it imperative on all to watch his career jn the future with the very closest atten'.on. Who knew when the Army and Navy might be wanted. Foreign nations were arme d to t.he teeth, and it might w :ll be at any i moment that some torch might be dropped into i the j POWDER BAG OF EUROPEAN POLITICS j which would land this country against our will in a terrible war. There was always that danger, and what would be the feeling of our soldiers and sailors if they were sent out to fight for the country, knowing if the marl's previous record wae true tha-t they would not have the support of the Pnnic M'nnter. We did not know when we might be called upon to fight. It was only OQ Saturday that he saw a statement that few Englishmen knew that for the last four or the months there had been numbers of German officers disguised as agriculturists walking and rid ng about Suffolk and Essex and Norfolk, taking maps and Studying the country ar.d roads a.nd getting every atom of information they could. D.d they think the German Emperor sent his effioers here tc find out about growing- potatoes or the price of oorn? They were there for some purpose which was not what they pretended, and the result might be that our Army and Nary ni ght be called upon for the very hardest strug- gle they had embarked in. It was sad to think that where they ought to look for the greatest support that they had got a mp. n who ha.d always persistently belittled their efforts and bespattered their character with mud. (Applause ) Mr. Toliemachc stated that I the question of Chinese Labour was a sort of I kettle which provided the music on thousands of Rad cal platforms during the present- cam- pa. gn (Laughter.) He hoped the remarks. I Colonel Cotton-Jodrell had made had knockcd the bottom out of that old tin kettle pretty con- i clusively. (Langhter.) Passing finally to the elec- ion campaign throughout the country, Mr. Tollemache said that in the first round the i Unionists had been very severely hacdied and mau'cd indeed, and he fully admitted it. (Laugh- ter.) But they were not at the end cf the cam- pa gn yet, and whether they were beaten or not, so far as he was concerned, he was not going to II take a tlirasliing without fighting. (Leud ap- plause.) He had taken off his coat metaphoric- ally during the last fortnight, and he confessed he was getting pretty fagged—;laughter)—but he was not going to put it en again until he had used every legitimat? means to secure Colonel Cotton-Jodrell's return. (Applause.) He was sure all the Colonel's supporters were quite ready to follow his example and do everything that in them lay to put him at the top of the poll (Ap- plause.) It was no u?e being dO'wn-hearteà(àp. plause) —CT ? a funk when they had a -severe crack on the head. <Lau?hter.) He said "Fa-intl heart never wo:} fair h\dy" Or e'ect? <Lau?h- i?r and loul applause.) He asked them all to work harder than ever until the close of the poll next Thursday. (Applause.) Mr. II. L. Cowdy spoke on Home Rule irom tho Irish point of view, and roused the audience frequentlv by his flashes of Irish humour. Mr. John Emberton a?o?'?d a vote of confid- ence in Colonel Cstiou'JodreH as the U?ntonistI candidate, and this was carr:d with cathu?iMm.

HOULT FOR WIRRAL. I THE NOMINATIONS. j Nominations of Parliamentary candidates for] the V. irral Division of Cheshire were handed in. on Tuesday at the Birkenhead office of Mr. G. A. Solly, deputy ret-urriing officer. The candidates nominators were as follows:— Joseph Hoult (U), steamship owner, proposed by John S Harmood Banner, seconded by Charles Maclver; also proposed by Dr. Napier, s- conded by Dr. Oldershaw; proposed by C. J. Bushel! and seconded by Thomas Davies, Needwood. William He<;kcth Lever (L). manufacturer, pro- posed by H. M. Gladstone, seconded by J Fergus" Smith; e? proposed by Thoma s Smith, seconded by Anw- L1ndy; and proposed by Major D A. S. Nesbitt, seconded by Walter F. Lee. Mr. Hoult'-s papers were deposited first, and as tlie candidate and his supporters were leaving the office tv met Mr. Iiever and his friends Mr. Hoalt -and Mr. Lever heartily shook hands and wished each other a good morning, Mr. Lever re- marking, "You look tip-top." The supporters of •aoh candidate tilso exclia-nged compliments. There were no objections, and the election will take place on Wednesday next, the 24th inst. ENTHUSIASM AT ELLESMERE PORT I A largieify^aitendod and enthusiastic meeting was hold on Tae-sday Jjight at El]eFn-oi-e Port in support of tlie candidature of Mr. J. Hoult. Uniosiist candidate for WirraK Tbe chairman was Mr Humphrey Price. Tho principal question, said Aix. Hoult. which the electors would be called upou. to decide ■at the election would be that of Fiscal policy. Mr Hoult w-eut on to shew how thtt Fnee Trade sys- tem was founded fifty yars ago at the instigation of Mr. Cobden. supported by Mr. Bright and others. For & -long timo that Fiscal policy was very beneficial to this country. But it must. not be forgotten that at that time this country was the workshop of the world. Other countries at that time had not found the way to manufacture the things -that this country then produced and etill produce. He pointed out that Mr. Cob de.n was of opinion that every country wo-nid follow our lead and adopt the Free Trade policy. Had Mr. Gobden been right, and had every other country followed oair lead, there would have been no FiajaJ question to-day, and there wouid have been Frse Tratfe aJt rowed, which he co»s;do«?d the ideal sysrtwm. But he vms not in favour of «fte-T«dcd Free Trado. nor was it -to the interest of England to be the only Free Trade country, and that every other country should -set up a b-arric-r against Our markets "were open to the whole wodd, but England was not per- mitted to send the pyoducts of her workmen abroad without praying a Torry jvy tax. It was not fair, he he-Id, to our manufacturers nor to our worfcere, for it meant, tho restriction ef our trade. It had been said that, the best policy was to buy in the cheapest market. That. would be qnitL- riglit if we wore only hifyers. but we vv<T-o also sellers. This country had become very rich, and had accunnwa-ted a good deal Of capital. There were more wealthy people now in England than had ever been the case, but, coupled with that. there wro moio unemployed That was an un- satisfactory position, tiud it sexutw d as if it made the rich man richer and the poor man poorer. It was said that since our imports were increasing in value and our exports a40. then tho country mmtoo in very good position But he ea.id it was aibeolutely wrong, a-nd tht. this was the (', was d?«joiir;ua.ted by the fzlcit tlia" there were so many unemployed.i If tlie former argument were true, then there &hen?d be no unemployed; yet, ae a irrvfter of fact, there were at presest*- more unemployed than lyrd over 1Y:-4?n tlie This was due to fact that there was too much money paid to the foreiyiier fo-r work that oiir own work- man could do. Why ilvould tho forrW-gner be per- mitted to p-nd his goods to this country to the exchreton cf the work that English workmen wanted" Yet thst wae what Free Traders ar- gued was ihe- proper policy. At pi-esent the lOt. of the workman in England was worse to-day than it bad ever been. Sinw the beginmaig of Free Trade everything had alteied, end new foreign countries only took from us the things tiiey oould not niannfactut«> Tli«nselv«3e, -and this was every year a diminishing quantity. No Bpitish work ro&n co«M think it. right, and no partrioiie Eng- lishman ecwtd Tv^t mlisfiod with that stat* of things, a.nd he proposed tJvat some cheok ssiould be placed up-om it. Work must he found for the woricm*n. who wtw at present ig«oing abroad. Tliere was plenty of it, but it wss done PA pner «emt by the -foreigner. (Applau^h If a ten per I.M. tax were .d ")ft the 14C mflHon ]Jl,luud. worth of goods anoually imported, tlwo the duties couid be taken off tea aud stigar, aneW if those operations were extended, tiie duty oculd ho taken off every article that iv&- required to live upon, and lis idea was that they siwuld thus make t-lu> cost of living cheaper. (Applause.} i riiey could do that by taxation of foreign, im- jx>rts. Referring to the Manchester elections, Mr, lIou.lt said z),.iit j}() remembered that t>ike present generation had boc-n oorn a.nd bred in j all atmosphere of Free Trade. It needed a bold I iftari to say tha.t wa.s wioug, but years ago he himself had eoiae to that conclusion as the result, of nitny years' business experience. He was satis- fied that it was only a question of t-hne, and the prop-le of tins country would demand that, their 4io,ild not be at the mercy of the foreigner, A resolution in favour of Mr. Hoult s candida- tnre was moved by Mr. Cecil Hoiden. seconded aind supported by Moss.ns. C. Maclver and Gordon wepoc-tivoiy, and was onShusiastteaHy caxi-:cd. AGRICULTURE AND FISCAL REFORM Mr Joeeph Hoult, the Unionist candidate for the Wirral Div s on, addressed two la-rge aud en- thus.^tie inoetinge at Morcton 81(.J Gre^shy on 1 uesday evening. At tiio Moreton gw- wh:ch v.-M i?;d at +k, ?)i?g? &c?M?s, Mr. H. H?don p)-<M:d<'d. !-c- Mr. Hou?L, )n & trenchant speech, discussed the F'?cit: quc?'o? from the pO:Qt o-f view of t? «g- ricultui^st. It was the agricultural imei-eet which first felt the effect of dumping -of the sur- plus products of other countries-, and the couse- qunoo was that this industry n England gradu- ally ieil from a position cf great prosperity to the deepest depression, and was finally rumed. Fhe consequence was tiiat they were now bearing the cry of "Back to the land. Tbe poople bad left (he land bee a use of ch^e gi-eat de^Hessioii in the agrieuituia! industry, and they could only be prevailed upon to return by a reoo.nsideratiion of our Fiscal arrangements and the pl-acing of some Obeok upon free imports. (Applause.) But- the great difficulty those who desired this change had to face was toO get the people to look at the sub- ject with &11 open mind and from an impartial point of view The oause of the defeat to the, Conss!vafiv'^s and Uiiio,i ;stc in Manchester was that the pcopte had been nnow-mild in con- s tiering this question. Although La,iu>asliire tJictight to day that oy-c-iything commercially was ail right, he wass coiivinccd that the cotion in- dustry would eventuallj' fee! the- pinch, as it had been felt in the metal, silk, Jioeiery and other in- dustiies. (Applause ) The on y way to stop this great depress O-M M cur ttftdo. to merectse emp-loy- nient, and to niaka t-lxo oost of living choapsr, was to bring about a change in our iisoal system. (Applau.se ) If the feeling of the country was not rn favour of this change during the prostsnt eJec- tOl, he was confident the question would be sett-led at the next general election. (App'-ause.) Protection was bound to conx> t'irough for^e of cuciinistances. and w-e should then take something for revenue out of the taxes upon the goodt brought in-to this comtry, and be ab'e to ivduce the taxation of ti-b-, fc-ja of (lie people. (Applause.) All that was desired was to treat- the forougnere as they treated us, and then Av-e hotlld k in a posi- tion to improve the con Jit on of ÙK- vvorklngmen of this country. (Appiaus^.) no hc-ped the elec- ) tors would not be d sniayed if the dcctious went against the Conservatives and Unionkte. Tlie reason for thedefrot.s was that many people did not understand the Fiscal qucsiion. and ctiiers hAd locked at- -1 ft o-m a selfish point, of view. He hoped the electors of "Wirral would bo firm and vote according to their own convictions, and then he was sure tl.at tho groat- que^ion of Fiscal re- form would be agreed to. if net at this e'octfon at tlie next general election, by an overwhelming majority 'Applause.) He lievcd tlia-t Wirral was going to be ;n the van in this matter as one of the earliest constituencies to ivtognise the im- portance and justice of a FiscaJ change. ?Ap- r,,4-lrtaiice and Just-le-e of a Fi?-caJ c l )ang?e. l Ap- A vote of coficler?c* in Mr Hoolt was pi-opo??,l by Mr W. Bnscoe, seeondcd by M* Maclver. and carried with ace-iams.tion A ROUSING MEETING. FISCAL REFORM A NECESSITY. Mr. Joseph Hoult, the Unionist oaiidio«t« for the Wirral Division, ou Wednesday night ad- dressed a crowded and enthusiastic meeting of his enpporters in the Concert-hall L'seard. Mr. J. R, Lloyd pie sided. So many people were un- able to obta-fl ad mission that it was found neces- sary to hold mi overflow meeting, which Mr. Hoult also addressed, in tbe eniaiter hail of che buildings, tho piocoedmgs being of an eciiially enthasiaswc chaj-acter. The Chairman, in his opening remarks, eaid lie was pleased that the workingme*! of Wailasey had turned up in such large r.utnbei-s to support the candidature of Mr Hoult. He was absolutely convinced- that the working men of that district and Inollier pa.!ta of the country vrero serving their best, when they supposed meci^ikc Mr. Joseph Hoult and the policy -of wJiich he was a, Axel-tg and faithful adheitint. (Applauae ) Tariff reform, he went on to say, meant more employment and better money for the working- nien of tlms countiy, and he ask«i tlnem to sup port Mr. Hoult because he had definitely staged that he was Tariff reformer. (Hear, hear.) Mr. Hoult, wlio met with an omiimsiastic recep- tion. sajd that that huge assembly indicated thai whatever reverses their party might have sus- tained in the country they were not going to-per- nlit a reverse in that division. (Ii-ear, hear.) They shewed true British pluck and courage. They not disheartened by what hed takeo piaoe. Neither was lie. (App,01 the con- trary, -he was determined, so far as h« atieugth would permit, tliat no-thing should be-left undone to assoat the Goivjervative-and Un^auist principles in "ïrraL 'Applause) He did not disguise from hif t?w serious tM?tuM of the reverses thM their party had &ia-ta.ir)ed-tA Voice: ''It will not be for lorig"')-—and he did not know that at this time; Loe should nquire tlie cause, but he thought he might say tlmt what had happened was a distinct disadvantage -to tbe work-ingnian and to the OOIlntry at la-rgc..Ilea:, hear.) The results of those electioas were being oloiteJy watdied in Continental oountrjft; and aiM in the Uinited States, and what was being wud liiere now justified everything Mr. Cl»mberla'm had done and recommended to the electorate of this oou-i t rT lteai.) The manufacturer in tho United States wore exultant. They said tariff reform in England was set back for a gcrtetvai(mi. The same feeling animatod German and Frenoh manufactureis. Tariff Iorm was not set back for a geaxsration he was satisfied tjiaft- many men who had been dissatisfied with the Unionist party regretted already the votes they had given for tho candidates who had boon returned. i-HOW.. hear.) 10 six months they would regret it more I deeply, and in twelve months things would have happened wLh would have disgusted the ooun try, and which in a little longer time would break up tho party that wAs now in power. Tf ever there was a tim-e when the country had given A BLANK CHEQUE to & party it was the present The country was absolutely giving a blank cheque to a party of bad reputation—(cries of "No"' and hear, hear)— a reputation which in the so disgusted the countiy that the country would not have them ai any prioc. What were the p!i that that party now put before tlie country? It was a very difficult matter to get any proposals at all out of them. but what had been gathered of their pro posa!s did not wari-ani them in having tlie re- motest confidence in them. (Hear, hear.) l'heir proposals might wben laid before Parliament meet- with the assent of Parliament, but would not meet- with the assent of tho people of i his country, i Applause ) Tho so proposals, owing to the consiitut-ioo of the Cabinet, and t-ho power bohind the- Cafeittet, Ctlld, lro iiiought. be such that, tho country would be a Wined and x.lioi;x>ughl\ uisgusc<>d. (Hoar. bc&r.) They bad "in that I Cabinet such a cvxiikniwa-iioa of in oongruit.ie5 that it was utterly impossible to get them to work together They had got the Little Engl ancle r. the Imp»ria-lw«t. the pic-Bocr, the Home Ru'e-r, the- di-eaeiUi Wisher of the Churoli, a ad, unfoiuuvately. they had got one man ocoupyipg a ptotninejn position who would rob the shurclies of the. r rehools awl deny religious education to the ch.il drcn. ("No" and "Yes.:vt The Latter, ho verj much afraid would dominate the C*-bin«t or that quicstiofi. (A Voioe: "Who is The ProAtdent of the Board of Tirade?—h» wa& noi- thl- Minister of Educ«#ion, end tt seemed to him (the" speokei) tha-t the membeis of tl«fi prasc-at-Ouhinet seemed betfer fitted' for paajtioas they -did not occupy then the positions titey lOW filling. ŒI,.v, .h.a,¡-.) The question of t-he iiiiemployeo was a v-rr i mpophant on#> aft feffeoting tiie worh irgt.er,. but under the pvesent Fjsefcl system it l was intpoesihle to do anyifeing -^xeept an -be

Chester to do tho;v marketing h-ere. Thus the opening out of the so mines in the Transvaal is giving work to Sandycroft, and it is giving a re- turn to the Chester tradesmen. (Loud cheers.) There was a point ho did not want thorn to lose sight of in this controversy There etill remained H.OME RULE to be dellt with, The Radical party could not release themselves from it They could put it on one side as they might.; hide it behind tbe door as they might; put it in the s'nk if they liked, put it wherever they liked, and hide it from the eyes of the electors, but there still re- mallned Home Rule to be dealt with. (Hear, hear.) It was like the old man of the sea who stuck on Sinbad the Savior's back. They could not shake it off. When Sir Henry Cainpbtll- Banncrman stood en that platform Mr. John Redmond was sitting on his shoulders all the: time. (Laughter.) They dd not see him, but lie W3i there. The hand might. have been the ),&nd of Sir Henry C<tmpbell-Bamjmnav), but the VOK« was the voice of Mr. Redmond. (Hear hear.) Mr. Redmond d:d not choose to express himself at that particular 1,;mo, but when ho did choose to speak later there would be a demand for Homo Rule. It was & very interesting situation. If they were to return a Liberal Government inde- pendent of the Irish party, that was to say superior to the Unionists and the Irish party com- bined, what would they do? (A Voice: "Noth- ing.) Yes, they would. (A Voio- "Eat one another.") It was quite true they would. That wa.3 what they did last time they were in office, j Th?y would recollect that their dissensions wore 60 strong that finally, assisted. hy the Union ists, they had to resi gn, but the Government would not split up before they hnd donH a great d"?I of harm in the country. They might reduce the Navy, and on our Navy depended our position j in the world. They might injure our Navy and weaken it so as expose us to t.ne perils of war. They would certainly introduce a Bill to dises tablish and disendow the. Engish Church in Wa les. and they would, and it was supported by the Rad:cnl candidate, destroy the distinctive re- ligious teaching in our schools. In place of de- oreasng our taxation their policy would be so extravagant, and at the, same time so feeble, that they would find themselves landed in a far larger expenditure than they had incurred row. They would have to face all these t'-vil's. PAYMENT OF MEMBERS. Ho noticed that, some of the Radical candidates placed so high a value upon their services that thpy actually thought the country ought, to pay them a handsome salary when they went- to Par- liament. The Radical Candidato now standing for this city. in an election address at Sal ford, declared himself in favour of tho payment of returning officers' expenses and the payment of members of Parliament. He had not. however, ventured to say that at Chester Therefore. if the. Radical candidate were returned they would find themselves in Chester committed to the pay- ment. of taxes for the support of members of Parliament He was told iliat tiia) capital ex pend"ture incurred for the payment of salaries at five hundred a year each member would amount to something like nine million pounds. He did not know in iviiat other direc- tion the Radicals were going to expend money, but if t-ho Radical party's policy regarding volun- tary schools wew carried there would be larger rates in that, town a.nd in the country. They would never get, except in tho DECREASE OF THE NAVY. economy from tho Radical party, Fi-oii) iiis ex- perieneo in the House of Commons lie was of opinion that if tho Radical pmty \varo returned to power with a large majority and an independ- ent position, the country would be called upon to pay increased taxation. Would, however, they be independent of the Irish party? He doubted it very much indeed. (Hear, hear.) His opinion was that they very probably indeed would not bo independent-, and if they were not independent of the Irish paity what, was the logical re-suit? They would have to dance to the Irish party's pipes. (Ghocrs.) If tho Irish party played a Home -Rule time, Sir Henry Gan1]lben-Hann{Hm;iland all the Government would have to dance to the Home Rule tune. The result would bo- they would liavo a. repetition of what was witnessed in the. Parlia- ment of 1892-5; they would have session after nession made sterile and useless, and if they were dependent- on tho Irish party they would either have to resign in disgust at their inability to do anything for the electors, or they would have to go to tho country on the Homo RU]è Bill and ask the country to accept it. (Hear, hear) CONFIDENCE. He thought the Unionist, party ought to go into the fight with every confidence- iGhovis.) Wo were fighting a great fight for our schools, for clIr Church, for our Navy, for ,.i,ir for the well-being of ollr working classes, becauas no Ptoveinment. had ever done for the working- classes what the Conser\ativc Government- had done in the past. (Cheers.) Wo were fighting for a closer alliance with out Colonies, closer lies of friendship, we were fighting for otir, posl tion in the 'world, for our trade, for the working people, for lower taxation, for religious instruc- tion in onr schools, for all these things, and he upon -the Unionist party in Chesetr without, hesitation to giro him on th's oocaSfOn. At one thousand majority. (Lotvd cheers.) Might, he remind them once more that. January 17t.h was his birthday. He did not. know ho<v loiig, with the kindness of Provide noc. he might, be spared1 to doson suiall work among t hem, but so Iong I its he lived be would like to Took back on j January rnh, 1906 (Cheers and "You will") —as beiug thr- ecca-iion on which IKS received from the peopic of Chester, with whom he had been acquainted so loiig—twenty years—a birth- I day present above all o the re,, which he most j valued, and that was a testimony or their regard for him than they had b;m before. (Cheers.) Mr. Yerbufgh ressuTttfcd ?iMS ee&t ?n)id loud and i prolonged ch?rR Mr. Andrews followed, and to i| again return Mr. Yerburgh at the bead ortb l poll. Dr. Bridge., i n proposing a -i-etoltit;on pledging! the meeting to me every legitimate means of ensuring Alr. Yerbijrgh's election, said he had never seen Mr. Yerburgh in better fighting trim, and he had never heard him spe&k "better, more wisely arid more convincing! j1. (Hear, hear.)] With such a Candidate the Unionists of C'hcsrer ought not to bo downhearted at what had hap-1 pe-ned in other parts of the eoumtry. They might: fcwy their shirts in Manchester.. but they'did hot •] buy their po'iiics there. (Hear, bear.) t-Ie; hoped they could think for themselves in Chester; IMid -they wit net going to confide their iiitei-ests, in a man they knew littie a boot. and throw over an old friend of t weftty years (Hear. hear.) Mr. Yerburgh was an old friend of his for longer than. .that, for they were at Oxford together. They; had had two magn iifcent Music Hall meetIngs, but all the enthusiasm counted for nofhing if they did not. work 011 the day of the poll (Cheers ) If g*y ?H put ?;?,?. b?A!! :T)to )t they wou!? %ee-i 14?y put t.?,L-ir th £ heseel ^ef five p<^ agfcin.' Y?,rbtltgh at tl,tl h,*Iw ;6f file .PdH itt;n. Dr. Ma?n, in aecon?in?.?a? H?y had 'many- ?me..? hstened to Mt'Yburh'8 anly; honest- ?d ?a?htfor?&.rd spe?*!)? ?t'he did «ot| Wl,dst?.-491ftforwi4d sp -ies, ?blit did not? in üHry way than that wM<:L !M had cMfv&icd'' that night- (Hear. hear) Mr. Yerburgh; -deseiN,,ed that- they should extend to him a renewal of-confidence Mr. Yerburgh was, held in affection by the citizens. The rsaoltftioh was enthusiasticaflj' c-arried. Mr. Yerburgh returned his warm thanks to a t'hooring crowd. He -exlKutsd Hhem to work for a splendid-majority. In eonelusion lie proposed a thariks to t-hc Chairman Mr. Egcrton Gilbert seconded, and ivmarfced 'hat. a friend of his told him that at the Radical ?<?ting &t Handbridge Mr. Yiei?bnT?h h?d been ^escribed M a du?pr. D:d h? (Mr. Yerburgh) J<Mk 1;? a duffer? (Cri<? of "?.'? Did he SPeak like- a duffer? (Loud cries of No.' ) "Was his record that. of a dnffW? (Louder ories of 'No.") "TbeB," fax! Mr. 'Gilbe-rt, "we can throw itooak in tilcir -toc^li afyd tell tlAAn they will never find a tK'tter candidate or a better jM?nbef tha.n wo h8win M*. Yerburgh," (Loud ,ry Mr. Gi¡.rt. &lso mentioned the work of Mr A?M?, .?? said thy oW-ed him ? debt of ?-ai?tjdo. (H<?r, h<?.) -Tha motion w? oarrMd --v.\i', accla, and n ^-rand meeting closed. For an hour or more »ft^rw«ds there were stirring scenes, cloqwnt of Mr. Yerfeurffh's popti- tarity. to \ye witnee-sed in tho'streets. Mr Yor- burgh good h u mo u rc d! y yielded to the spirit of 'thef hour, and was drawn along am;d torches 'flaring and hundreds cheering.