The Express.
London, England, 1847-08-05 00:00:00

they will tme that hearing which my friends
have conceded to them. No mw entertains a higher respect
for my gallant opponent, Colonel Wood, than the individual
who stands before you. I ka;ow him to be a good, I believe
him to be an amiable, man best while I am bound to respect
the hereditary successor of the a‘Tell of Middleton, I am not
called upon to appreve the reeeleca'on of the late member for
hiiddlimer, however qualified he n. eY
ancestral virtue* which we have been it formed are hereditary
in his family. (Hear, hear.) Ido nos'
be to represent those
elieve that by his
course in parliament he has a right to clia'
h t
m your sympathy,
or to ask you again to return ham as yes, r member. It is
true, you may be told that lam estranger. lam • stranger,
and I trust you will give me a stranger's we:come. (Loud
cheers.) But I beg you will at the same call to mind
that if it is presumptuous in me to stand before y.,tt this day,
' it is a position thrust on me, and not sought tor by any
vanity or unnatural ambition. What u ln.'en the
I state of the county representation for the last ten iean ?
You have been going on in a humdrum style, e.'eet-
ing :one gentleman to vote for liberal principts's,
and the other, except on one point, to suppori
contrary measures. (Cries of " No," and " Yes.") I
ask, has not an attempt been made to compromise this great
county ? (" Yes.") I ask the independent electors
whether they are prepared to see this great metropolitan
county, which should be an example to all England, reduced
to a level with Gatton and Old Sarum? (Loud cheers.)
Therefore, gentlemen, I tell you that, in default of your
being able to find better men, I come forward at the
eleventh hour to give the honest and independent electors an
opportunity of recording their votes, and of giving an
emphatic contradiction to the rumoured compromise. When
leaders such as your former member, Mr. Hume, have de-
clined to come forward, you eau hardly refuse me, an hum-
ble private in the cause of reform, permission to step forward
to lead what Ido not deem to be • forlorn hope. (Loud
cheers.) I at least, gentlemen, feel confident of success,
and I shell put my foot in the breach, convinced that I shall
be carried forward in the attempt by the votes and acclama-
tions of my fellow-countrymen. (Loud cheer.) We
have heard much on the present occasion of the
rashness of members volunteering, and of the hard-
heartedness of constituencies demanding, what are called
hustings pledges. I reciprocate the opinion to a certain
extent, for I cannot forget the fatal blow given to public
Confidence by the habit of members of parliament coming
before the people, pledging themselves to particular views,
and at the end of their career voting diametrically opposite.
I (Loud cries of "Hear, hear.") You have read the history
of year country well, and can recall to your mind the great
measure of catholic emancipation, which was carried by
those who stood pledged to oppose it, and who at every hust-
ings in the kingdom swelled the slogan of the no-popery cry.
(Hear, hear.) And coming to a later date you will recollect
that they, on the hustings in 1811, pledged themselves to
protection to agriculture (hear and cheers). coming before
you in the garb of the ss farmer's friends." (Cheers and
laughter.) You will recollect that the repeal of the corn
laws was carried by those men who had ejected Lord J. Rus-
sell's government on that very point. (" Very true.") And,
gentlemen, when my gallant adversary takes credit to him-
self for having voted the repeal of the cora laws, when he
tells you he was driven to it by the famine in Ireland, I
would beg you to call to mind that in the year 1841,
when Lord John Russell proposed a repeal of the
eorn laws and a reduction of the duties on sugar,
the name of Col. Thomas Wood was found in the majority
of 112 which turned out Lord John Russell and his free-
trade questions. (Hear, hear.) Ido not mean to make use
of any hard words. Ido not believe that Col. Wood was a
political apostate, but I baievellie was a man of a ductile
mind—(laughter)—that he did not give that free play to his
ability you have seen to-day--(" Oh !")—and that he was
content to trust his political conscience to the keeping of Sir
It. Peel. (Laughter.) Therefore, I abjure the word apos-
tate. No doubt but that, like many members of parliament,
the gallant colonel never examined the subject ; fur, if he
had, he could not have let himself be elected in 1837 pledged
to carry protection. (Col. Wood : " No.") He says no,
but I believe there are many unfortunate farmers who,
through some obscurity of style in the gallant colonel—
perhaps through his not bringisg his papers in his pocket,
as he has done today—went away from the hustings at
that time impressed with the idea that, if they voted
for Wood, and turned out Hume, protection would
be maintained in all its pristine deformity. (Hear,
hear, hear.) Would you have voted epaulet Hame
had it been otherwise ? (General cries of " No.") And yet
I am sure that, as a man, he could not have nerve and
courage to say that then he was hostile to repeal. Not one
word was breathed then of the miraculous light which
afterwards beamed on his mind in 1843. Now he comes
forward with a church cry ; but I tell those hon. gentlemen
who esteem themselves special defenders of the church, to
be on their guard, lest some course be taken with regard to
the Church of England, similar to that which was taken in
the case of the corn-laws. (Loud cheers.) I think that the
greatest admirer of the established, church will be inclined
to exclaim, " God, defend use frail my friends!' Much
has been said on these hustings about pledges. I cannot go
the whole length in deprecating pledges; I think that there
are certain great questions which agitate the public mind,
which no man should come to ask you for your support
without having made up his mind on--so as to be able
directly to answer your questions. It is too much to sup-
pose that on the great questions of the day men will
have no opinion. I have no hesitation in telling you
my course as to the system of endowment which has
been alluded to by both candidates. The gallant colonel
has spoken of Ireland, and has given you to under-
stand that the panacea for its evils after the poor law
would be an endowment of the clergy. The gallant
colonel was obscure on that point, but I will tell you that I
am opposed to any further endowment from the public purse
to any sect whatever. (Hear.) lam opposed to it. not on
any narrow sectarian grounds, but because I think it
inimical to the interests of religion, certainly to the interests
of the state, that the public taxes should be appropriated to
the support of any church in any portion of her Majesty's
dominions. On these grounds I voted against the vote to
the presbyterians of the north of Ireland, as I would
against • vote for the Roman catholics of the
south ; so let there be no mistake about the principle.
The system of taxation will be one of the first subjects which
will he considered by the legislature. (Cheers.) I have
voted against the imposition of the income-tax, and I did so
because I thought that income from trades should be taxed
in the same way that income from land is. It is my wish M
see a graduated property-tax established. If returned to
parliament, I shall vote for the repeal of the window-tax ;
and I think there are many modes of keeping up the revenue
without imposing unfair burdens on the tradesman. lam
in favour of direct taxation, and I wish to repeal the duty on
tea, which is necessary to the people of the country. I have
but one motto inscribed on my banner, and that is, "The
Sovereignty of the People." (Cheers.) I have not voted,
like the gallant colonel, for more bishops. I think that
the surplus revenues of the church should be given to
increase the stipends of the poorer clergy, and not
to the increase of the number of bishops. There are
so many subjects on which I have addressed the
electors during the last week, that it is unnecessary for me
to trespass at any length on your time or patience. It has
been asked, " Who is Mr. Osborne ?" and I hope the
electors of Middlesex will give the same answer to this
question that has been given to it respecting Mr. G. Thomp-
son in the Tower Hamlets. I shall tell them that Mr.
Osborne is not one that would change his mind, and give no
opportunity to the electors to express their opinions. Mr.
Osborne is not one who would all the ballot an un-English
system. I ask if bribery and corruption are English or
honourable ? lam • true conservative, prepared to advance
with the times, not changing for the love of change, but
changing when the necessities of the country demand it.
The show of hands was then taken, and the sheriff de-
clared it to be in favour of Lord Robert Grosvenor and Mr.
Osborne.—A poll was demanded on behalf of Col. Thomas
Wood, which will commence on Monday next.—A vote of
thanks having been passed to the sheriff, the proceedings
wminated.

ABERDEEN.
The keenest canvass and most determined election con-
test ever witnessed in this city were closed on Monday. The
votes at the close were—For Captain Fordyce, 918 ; Lieut.-
Col. Sykes, 427—majority, 491. Capt. Fordyce addressed
the crowd from the committee-roems, at the Aberdeen
Hotel. There could not have been less than 15,000 persons
present. The committee-rooms of Col. Sykes. at the Royal,
were almost deserted, and the committee themselves dis-
appeared one by one. They were received in the streets by
cheers from the crowd.

BUCKINGHAMSHIRE.
AT casnr nv, WIDNESDAY.—The election of three knights
of the shire to serve in parliament for this county took place
this morning at the County-hall. Notwithstanding that
there had been, (or some days past, rumours of an opposition,
it was pretty generally understood this morning that the
three candidates whose names had been so long before the
electors would be allowed to walk the course, and that
beyond the mere nomination of a fourth candidate no op-
position would be offered. At the hour appointed the hall
was crowded to excess, one of the galleries being filled with
ladies, all decorated with the colours of the Cavendish
family—blue and orange. The Baron M. de Rothschild,
the sheriff of the county, presided. The Queen's writ
having been read, and the usual preliminary forms having
been gone through
Mr. C. O. Du Pre was proposed by Mr. G. Penn, and
seconded by Mr. R. Wykham. Sir T. D. Aubrey proposed,
and Mr. M. Swabey seconded, the name of the lira. C. C.
Cavendish; and Mr. P. Dauneey proposed, and Mr. M.
Knapp seconded, the name of Mr. B. Disraeli, as fit and
proper persons to represent the county. Mr. J. Gibbs, an
auctioneer and farmer, wee then proposed by J. Lee. Esq.,
LL.D., and recommended as the firm friend of religious
liberty, and the enemy to all state endowment and the con-
nection between church and state. Mr. Barry, a farmer of
Chilton, seconded this nomination.
Mr. 0 tnee, who, as he declared that he had no intention of
going to the poll, was allowed to speak first to save time,
said that he, as a dissenter, wishing the sew-ration of the
church and state, desired to make the church more efficient
by sweeping away her impurities. He contended that no
man who was free from crime ought to be taxed for the sup-
port of a religion of which he was not a communicant. The
church had no right to take his feather beds to stuff their
pulpit cushions. The game laws he condemned as the
source of more mischief, misery, iniquity, and expense, than
any other set of laws on the statute book. Ile knew that
many of the game preservers could not be convinced that
the game laws were wrong; but no one could doubt the
mischief and misery they occasioned, and if the game pie-
servers were influenced by the smallest spark of patriotic
feeling they would at once abandon them. (Loud cheers.)
Ile was opposed to war, and would settle all inter-
national differences by arbitration. He would dif-
fuse the blessings of education amongst the masses;
he would extend the elective franchise not only to
men but to women. (Hear, hear.) He thought the prin-
ciple of the present poor law erroneous, and regretted the