Meeting at Duke's Head founds Liberal party branch (1885)

Post date: Apr 09, 2013 7:17:29 PM

Extract from South Eastern Gazette 16th May 1885.

LIBERALISM IN KENT.

MEETING AT WATERINGBURY

SPEECHES BY MR. CHARLES, WHITEHEAD, J.P., AND MR. HALLEY STEWART.

A large and enthusiastic meeting was held on Monday evening at the Duke’s Head, Wateringbury, the audience comprising representatives of labour from many of the surrounding parishes. The chair was occupied by Mr. Charles Whitehead, J.P., and there were present Mr. Hailey Stewart (Liberal Candidate for the Spalding Division of Lincolnshire), Mr. C. A. Case, Mr. Councillor J. Potter, Mr. A. J. Ellis (Secretary Medway Liberal Association), Messrs. W.Cable (Teston), R. Benzie, T. H . Pack (Secretary Malling Liberal Association), F. Nioholson, E.J. Rook, Collins, Button, and many others.

The Chairman, who received a most hearty greeting, said he was very much pleased at having received an invitation to take the chair that evening, having lived near the place all his life, knowing many of the inhabitants, and being known, he ventured to think, to most of them [hear, hear]. He was glad to find so large an attendance of what he might call the right sort of persons—those who had only recently been given the privilege of voting by the present Liberal Government [cheers]. And he thought this meeting showed that those who had obtained this privilege thoroughly appreciated and understood it [hear, hear].

The various meetings which had been held throughout the county, and especially in oonnection with the Medway Liberal Association, had tended to show that not only did the newly-enfranchised classes appreciate the value of the vote, but had taken proper and speedy steps to inform themselves of their political rights, and establish correct political opinions. It was thought by the Conservatives before tbe Franchise Bill was passed that the agricultural labourers—the householder in country districts—did not care the least about the vote, and would not appreciate it, and would not know what to do with it. Now he thought this was a great libel upon the intelligence of the agricultural classes throughout the country, as this meeting and all other meetings subsequent to it, since the passing of the last Reform Act, would show [hear, hear]. When did the Conservatives ever try to give the vote to the agricultural classes? (A Voice, “ Never!” ).

He thought the answer to that was that the Conservatives were afraid that they and Conser­vatism would be swamped as soon as the new law came in to operation [cheers]. He thought that was the only answer which could be given to the question. He thought if they looked at the expressions of opinion which had been uttered since the last Reform Act had been passed—expressions uttered by agricultural labourers and householders who had been enfranchised —and if they regarded the signs of the times, they might hope to see in the next House of Commons the largest Liberal majority that was ever returned there [cheers]. He knew some of the leading Conservatives, and knew what was taking place in the Conservative camp, and he knew there was great despondency as to the result of the next campaign. It had been told him by one who knew exactly what was going on in the Conservative camp that great fears were expressed that there would not be two hundred Conservatives returned to th e next House of Commons [hear, hear, and a Voice “ That will be too many ” ]. He had also heard others say that there would not be 160 Conservatives returned [laughter]. He thought, when all matters were considered and fairly and im partially weighed,there oould be no doubt that the inevitable result of the votes of the newly-enfranchised classes would tend to the triumphant return of the Liberal party. The present meeting had been called to show them what were the aims and objects of the Liberal party, and to point out the advantages of Liberalism over Conserva­tism especially to the working classes. He could not understand how any workingman could be a Conserva­tive [hear, hear]. All their hopes and expectations, all their interests, must, it seemed to him , be centred in Liberalism [cheers].

Mr. Whitehead then traced the various stages of the Reform Acts of the past, and referred, amid some laughter, to the House of Lords as “hereditary law-hinderers.” The Conservative party was always a war party, and when Mr. Gladstone asked the House of Commons for a vote of £11,000,000 the Conservatives, in their rampant jingoism, were highly elated. But fortunately this country had at the helm a statesman of the true Liberal type, a statesman who remembered the chief watchword of the Liberal party, namely, “Peace,” and had steered the nation out of that most disastrous calamity, war [hear, hear].

Such a war would, in all probability, have been one of the most bloody on record, and would have embroiled many other nations, aud hindered the progress of civilisation and trade and thus materially affected the working classes [hear, hear]. War was to be avoided as a barbarous, out-of-date, obsolete appeal, and he waa sure war would be avoided by the working classes when they had the power of directing the great ques­tions of the day [cheers]. Mr. Whitehead then proceeded to touch upon the question of Free Trade v. Protection. He remarked that a few words must be said on the Subject, for so many red herrings were trailed across the scent to take the working classses off the real track. They must not be led away by any­thing they might hear against Free Trade. They might depend upon it it was the best possible state for them, for the oountry, and for the world, and that by it England had enormously prospered, and her working classes had wonderfully benefited. Had not food and clothing been cheaper than ever, and were not food and clothing the first and most important necessaries of working men? When he passed the cheap New Zealand mutton shops in Maidstone and saw the crowds of customers on Saturday nights, he said to himself “See what free trade has done! Our working classes can get a bit of meat now and then at least.” The price of butcher’s meat had until lately been so high that many among them never saw it. Now, the imports of meat were happily increasing, and he trusted it would remain cheap, so that the working classes might be enabled to get it. But he would ask them what would have happened if there had been a duty upon meat.

Why, prices would have kept up at the top figure, and importers would have been discouraged from sending meat here. The same applied to all articles of food— bacon, sugar, and all other things they required, and it would be a most suicidal polioy for them to dream of imposing any taxes upon the food imported into this country. Let them take bread. Suppose there had been a tax upon the importation of wheat, a sliding scale tax according to value, how they would have been pinched to pay for that necessity of life. And who would have reaped the benefit of this increased price of wheat? He was inclined to think it would most of it have gone to the pocket of the landlord in the shape of rent. The tenant farmer would get a small share, but he believed the labourer would get no direct advantage, and it was clear that he would have the terrible dis­advantage of a dear loaf. It was the fashion now to say that the depression in trade and agriculture was due to free trade. They should not believe a word of it. All countries under the sun were suffering from the same cause, some in a greater degree. In America trade was in a wretched state; agriculture also was suffering most, and the working classes had to pay very dear for all articles of clothing and many neces­saries. In New Zealand and Australia meat and flour were cheap, but everything else, clothing, and all other necessaries, were dear, because a tax was put upon them . Sugar in America was 6d. per lb. because a duty was levied upon it. In Germany, France, and Austria, where trade was carefully protected, trade and agriculture were in a very poor way. All over the world trade and agrioulture were more or less under a cloud. Free trade was one of the cardinal features of the Liberal policy, and he most earnestly trusted that the working classes would not be led away from it [cheers].

Mr. Halley Stewart, who was received with much applause, said he regretted that owing to the train service in the district he could not stay long at the meeting, but he had very great pleasure in being pre­sent and having the opportunity of moving the first resolution, which was as follows:—“ That this meeting desires to thank Mr. Gladstone for his untiring labours in the cause of freedom, of which the Franchise and Redistribution Bills are no inconsiderable parts, and assures him and his colleagues in the Ministry of its confidenoe and support.” He most heartily moved that resolution. The Franchise and Redistribution Acts were no unimportant parts of the magnificent services which the Liberal party in general, and the present Government in particular, had rendered to this country. Some of them who had been toiling for ten or fifteen years to bring about these results were proud of the position in which they stood to-day, seeing the triumph which had been wrought in a single twelve-­month owing to the firm stand made by the leaders whom they chose at the commencement of the year 1880 [cheers]. The Tories were now going about the country claiming that they had done something in the cause of redistribution and reform . He wanted to know w hat the Tories had done. If history taught him aright, it told him that the Tory party up to 1832 was shamefully opposed to the granting of political power to the middle classes of this country [ hear, hear].

That party brought the country within a hair’s-breadth of a revolution which would have swept away more than the House of Lords. Mr. Disraeli certainly was the first to propose a kind of household suffrage, but he (the speaker) never would admit that that was real household suffrage. Mr. Disraeli wished to give the vote to, people who lived in towns, but not to those in the oountry districts, and moreover his proposal embraced the principle that men living in big houses should have two votes, and persons having money in the funds should have votes, and men who laid up large accumulations of wealth should have votes and out­ vote the artizan and the mechanic at the polling booth. Mr. Gladstone, in the House of Commons, said “ We will make your Reform Bill, which is a sham, a reality .” Mr. Gladstone demanded that the dual vote should be abolished, and from that day it was a dead certainty that sooner or later household suffrage would be universal throughout the country | cheers]. With regard to the Reform Bill of 1867, he should not quote from any Liberal statesman, but he would only quote the earnest, though venomous words, of one who was now the most prominent politician in the Tory ranks. Lord Cranbourne, now the Marquis of Salisbury, speaking in the House of Commons on that bill, expressed his astonishment that the bill should be regarded as a Tory triumph, and said it was passed by the party in opposition, at the dictation of Mr. Glad­stone. His lordship said, challenging the Tory party for imposture in the matter, “ I desire to protest against the political immorality whioh has characterised your conduct of this Reform Bill” [laughter]. There­fore the Liberals would claim , not as a matter of memory, but on the evidence of Lord Salisbury him ­self, that Mr. Gladstone gave household suffrage to the towns in 1867, and it was certainly he who gave it to the agrioultural labourers in 1884 [cheers]. It was also pretty certain that the labourers, in return, would vote for the party which gave them their rights, and he might add that, under the protection of the ballot, they could go to th e polling booth with the utmost safety and confidence, and vote as they pleased without anyone being the wiser [hear, hear]. Mr. Stewart then went on to condemn the present system by which a man could possess more than one vote by having property in several districts. He believed the time was coming when the principle of “one man one vote” would be established in this oountry. After referring to the land question, the speaker remarked that he had read with much interest the report of the Commission on the Housing of the Poor, and in that report there was one splendid passage which had not attracted one-hundredth part of the interest it should have done, owing to its genuine Radical spirit. He had been called Ultra-Radical, Communist, and all kinds of names for saying practically what this report said. This was the passage: “ The Commissioners recomm­end that unoccupied land in towns and cities should be taxed according to its value, and not according to its use.” What was good for the town and the city was good for the country also, and park land, as well as city land, should be taxed accordingly [great cheering]. He could only say that if the Marquis of Salis­bury was satisfied with the principle laid down in that passage, he (Mr. Stewart) was perfectly content to follow his lordship in its application, not only to towns and oities, but to every part of the oountry as well. The result would be that the land would be brought in to cultivation, because it would not pay a man to have land occupied if he had to pay taxes on it [oheers]. Mr. Stewart concluded by a most eloquent and earnest appeal to the audience on behalf of Liberal principles, and resumed his seat amidst much enthusiasm.

Mr. C. A. Case, in seconding the resolution, observed that he believed such a meeting as the present one had never before been held in Wateringbury, and he congratulated the newly-enfranchised voters on the at­tainment of their just rights. After dealing with the past history of the two political parties, Mr. Case said the question before the electors of the Medway Division of Kent at present was,*how would they vote at th e next general election? It was expected that a good sturdy Liberal oandidate would be brought forward one who would support the present Government [hear, hear]. The Tories were very anxious to know how the agricultural labourers would vote, but the Liberals felt confident that they could rely on the labourers [hear, hear]. W hen a candidate was selected they must exercise their power to the utmost to support him and return him at the head of the poll [cheers].

Mr.J. Potter supported the resolution, and alluded to the brighter prospects of peace which now existed as compared with a few weeks ago. He spoke in laudatory terms of Mr. Gladstone’s management of difficult crises like the present, and of the beneficial introduction by the Premier of the prinoiple of arbitra­tion. The British working-classes were not in favour of war, and they had the power of expressing their opinion. He should like to see the working olasses of all other oountries have a similar power, and especi­ally the poor, down-trodden races of Russia [cheers].

The resolution was then adopted, one hand being held up in dissent.

Mr. J. Saxby then briefly moved “ That a local Liberal Association be formed for the parishes of Teston, Wateringbury, West Peckham, and Mereworth.”

Mr. W . Cable, in seconding, said he had no fear as to the way in whioh the working men of this district would vote. He felt sure they would go to the poll and plump for the Liberal candidate, because the Liberal party had given them the vote, and they would act like men in return [hear, hear]. Although there were Tory employers in the neighbourhood he did not think there was one who would allow his workmen’s politics to interfere prejudicially with their interests [hear, hear].

The resolution was then adopted.

Mr. R. Benzie delivered a stirring speech, in moving a vote of thanks to the Chairman and speakers; and the motion was seconded by Mr. A. J. Ellis, who fully explained the method of voting by ballot.

The motion having been carried, the Chairman replied, and the meeting closed with cheers for Mr. Gladstone and the Chairman.