The Express.
London, England, 1847-06-19 00:00:00

Such preliminary movements are necessary in all
great constituencies. It is the right of every citizen
to look about for eligiblecandidates, and to offer them,
or to offer himself, if he pleases., for the accepta-
tion of his fellow-citizens. If the parties thus
brought forward are ao received as to afford
• fair prospect of being returned, they may pro-
ceed ; if not, their wisest plan is to make
their bow and retire. But it is only by individuals
and knots of friends thus bringing under public no-
tine the claims of one or other candidate that the
great body of electors have any chance of an opportu-
nity to choose among an adequate number of claim-
ants. There is something plausible at first view in
the scheme of what are ailed " regular nominations"
in America—meetings of electors in wards or dis-
tricts to nominate committees, and then the meeting
of these in combined committee to select proper candi-
dates. But, in practice, this method is uniformly
found to place the great body of the electors in the
leading strings of a few busy, intriguing managers.
The best way is to allow all who choose to name their
candidates, and leave it to the good sense of the
general body, or of the preponderating party, to unite
upon those who seem most worthy of their support.
This is exactly the process which was quietly
going forward in Glasgow till Monday last.
The various knots of electors were discussing whether
they should give Mr. DENNISTOUN another trial
along with a new colleague, or whether they should
choose two bran new members, and who among the par-
ties already spoken of appeared to be the moat eligible.
Every man, of course, was, with more or less ardour,
advocating the claims of hie favourite—candidate wo
cannot say, for as yet there is, properly speaking, only
one candidate in the field. But on Monday morning
the progress of these deliberations was broken in
upon by a manifesto issued by Mr. DENNISTOUN'S
friends—or, to present the matter at once in its full
absurdity, by Mr. DENNISTOUN'S political agent,
proclaiming to the liberals of Glasgow that they
must not only take that gentleman, bat also any col-
league whom the limited body of his personal friends',
sad adherents may condescend to bring forward
slogswith him for their suffrages.
ukase, it is true, assumes the form of a simple
editorial paragraph in a local journal—the Argus;
bat circumstances have resealed its official paternity. I
The division of opinion as to whether Mr. DENNIS-
TOUN ought to be returned again, or who ought to be
returned in his place or as his colleague, extends even
into the inner raglans of the company who own the
journal we have named. And three of their number,
the active and leading person among them being Mr.
DENNISTOUN'S political agent aforesaid, have, in the
absence of at least one extensive proprietor, who has
been mainly instrumental in the movement for bring-
ing forward Mr. 3.lAccaecoa, summarily cashiered
the editor, and, usurping his office, issued the mani-
festo above-mentioned.
I The edict which has thus been promulgated is cee.
Willy one of the most curious documents that the
I annals of British electioneering, fertile in literary
absurdities, has produced. It lays down the law that the
electors of Glasgow ought not even to put in nomina-
tion any candidate who is "presented to them in such
a way as shows clearly that such member comes into
the field irrespective of those well-known great party
interests, by the legitimate management of which the
rights of the electors are beat protected and main-
tained." The English of this elegant periphrasis
is that the electors of Glasgow ought not even
to think of any candidate who is not presented to
them by their " legitimate managers"—Mr. DEN-
NISTOUN's personal friends. And all who shall a
far forget themselves as to violate this ordinance are
declared to be " guilty of monstrous wickedness," and
pathetically warned to " pause ere they proceed a single
step further in their slid and unhallowed purpose."
This ridiculous and irritating attempt at dictation
can scarcely fail to repel the majority of the liberals
from the, doubtless, not unimportant portion of their
number who are more closely leagued and allied with
Mr. DENNISTOUN. The mere suspicion of such an at-
tempt at dictation on the part of this section as is now
barefacedly made contributed in no small degree to the
Is of the first election under the Reform Bill, and
that at a time when " the clique," as it is called, was
much stronger than it is now—stronger not only in
the . support of many gentlemen who now protest
against its.proceedings, but strong also in members
like Mr. COLIN DUNLOP, Mr. CHARLES TENNANT,
and others, who have been removed by death, leaving
no successors like themselves behind them.
There is no remedy for the bad effects of this silly
explosion of ne, tulant self-will but in the good sense
of the great body of liberal electors as represented
by the ward committees, who, in former elections, Do
disinterestedly and indefatigably acted on behalf of
the liberal interests. The party to which they gave
their confidence, thinned by death and broken up by I
disunion among its members, can no longer be trusted
with the lead ; and the ridiculous airs which the few
survivors have been- giving themselves—airs which
they were prevented from assuming while their more
judicious and influential colleagues survived or acted
along with them to keep °l°ltieme4C order, would render
it unadvisable to yield the had to them, even if they
had the power to take it. The ward meetings have
, nothing for it but to assemble, and choose among the
candidates who have been ar may be offered for their
support.
This is the affair of the Glasgow constituency alone,
and may safely be left to their judgment and discri-
mination. They need no instruction from without to
raido their choice, and are, indeed, rather apt to
kick at foreign attempts to guide or influence them.
Not, therefore, with a view to their selection, but as
a tribute to common decency, do we enter our protest
against the flunkeplike abuse lavished in the article
of the Glasgow Argus upon Mr. MACGREGOR.
The Glasgow attorney streets to spat of
Mr. MACGREGOR, with aristocratic supercilioasems,
as " a mere government clerk." This is a
ridiculous misrepresentation. The University of
Cambridge may be supposed to be sufficiently iu-isto-
attic in its notions, yet Mr. MACGREGOR'S colleague
is a candidate to represent it, and with good pros-
pects of success. Moreover, that colleague accepted
1 of the office after having filled that of Under Secre-
tary to the Colonies ; and the Under Secretary for the
Colonies is required to have a seat in parliament
The truth is that Mr. MACORPAOR wag practically
educated for Ws present appointment by discharging
important diplomatic duties in almost every country
in Europe daring a periad. of eight years. He is an
active, skilful, and experienced man of business ; a
man capable of effectually filling an office 'which
there are not six men in the esuntry qualified to
bold. The sanction given to his vines of Commercial
policy, were he elected for f.law, would materially
strengthen hie hands for good; no mi •Attryj would
lightly insult or injure the representative of ffirssow ;
and no man of common sense would inapt the re-
presentation of that iity,wbo sal est eseildiat at
his own and his collaag acme intentioa to pores-
were in a liberal policy.
i:,_
The Paris journals sad Ni M of law
iniseis
l'ith have reached us. the resist-'
once of the ministly, Oil' adoertions of
MM. Duchatel and Dumont; Chamber of
Deputies, the proposition to reduce the duty on silt
was carried by an immense majority, only fourteen
votes being given in support of the cabinet. The mi-
nisterial members who dared not oppose a proposition
which their constituents regarded with such un-
mixed approbation, and yet equally recalled from the
consequences of disobedience to the sedan of the
cabinet, took the expedient of absenting themselves.
This vote of the chamber, given on Wedneudayio=
plies a theme for triumph to the opposition
on Thursday, which pronounce it the =station, oho*
the Guizot cabinet has suffered. The ministry, how-
ever, rely. on their influence in the other chamber,
where it is certain the proposed reduction will be
rejected. '
The petition of Prince Jerome Bonaparte to be
allowed to return to France, which has been vir-
tually rejected by the peers, will meet, it is expected,
with a more favourable reception in the deputies.
L' Union Monarchique says, "That peace has been
re-established between M. Guizot and M. Duchatel.
The latter is propitiated by the appointment et his
brother to the embassy at Lisbon, to which M. Guizot
has, at length, been brought to consent. This, if
true, will be only a stepping-atone to Madrid, so long
solicited by M. Duchatel for his brother.
The Chamber of Peers is summoned to assemble on
Monday as a Court of Judicature, to bear the report
of the committee on the prosecution of General
Gubieres.
The Dihnts lays, " The intervention in Portugal has
already produced fruits. We learn that, on the lOth,
the Queen of Portugal issued a proclamation con-
taining a full and entire amnesty to the inenrgents.