The Express.
London, England, 1847-08-02 00:00:00

TOWER HAMLETS.

THE OFFICIAL .1);(.11ARATION of the poll took place on
Saturday, at one o'clock. Sir W. Clay first appeared on the
hustings, and was soon followed by Mr. G. Thqmpson, who
was received with great applause. Major-General Poz
arrived after the commencement of the proceedings.—Mr.
Child, the returning officer, said it was his duty to inform
the electors of the result of the poll. After the most careful
examination he found the numbers to stand thus : Mr.
G. Thompson, 6,268. (Great cheering.) Sir W. Clay, 3,839.
(Laughter and cheering.) General Pox, 2,622. (" Oh,"
cheers, and laughter.) He, therefore, declared Mr. George
Thompson and Sir W. Clay to be duly elected an members
for the Tower Hamlets. (Great cheering and applause.)
Mr. G. THOMPSON then came forward amidst marks of
the greatest enthusiasm. He said that he found no difficulty
in meeting foes, but he wanted ability to discharge the duty
which now devolved on him of thanking friends for placing
hint in the petition which he now occupied. He felt that
he was the member for the Tower Hamlets. (Cheers.) He
had been elected unanimously at a meeting on the 30th
June, and at almost 'TNT meeting which he had attended—
and there could be no mistake that he was elected on the
day of the nomination. They knew the principles on which
they had returned him, for he had avowed them in
every assembly. He had not entered the bo-
rough and obtained his present position by false
pretences. He would not endeavour to magnify him-
self, but he would magnify his Mike, and adhere to the prin-
ciples which placed him is it. He had his own notions of
conservatism, and be thought the: he was a very good con-
servative. True consernstisea was to confer on every man
mat an amount of liberty as by his meutsl and moral nature
he was entitled to, and to this sod he would preserve every-
, thing that was good. The way to preserve whatever we
loved—the church, the loyalty of the people, and the laws--
was by expunging whatever was bad from the laws. He was
not for deetruction, but protrusion ; he would lave what was
good by banishing, all that wasbad—that was radicalism ;
and sound radicalism was sound conservatism. lie
each a conservative he eases amongst them ; and what
a glorious election it had been ! (Tremendous cheering.)
He had been invited to stand for 12 or 15 places in the king-
dom ; and this was indeed a proud moment, because they
would receive the sympathy of all those who held the same
views with them throughout the kingdom. Last year he
was made a freemen of the city of Edinburgh, and his
name stood en the burgess list next to that of Lord John
Ruud!. He had been asked to stand for that place, and
they would have the sympathy of the electors of that city,
who hod just returned a member who had never been sent
to parliament before. They would have the sympathy of
Plymouth, Leicester, Lambeth, and of all those throughout
the kingdom who loved liberty for the slave, politial
equality at home, freedom of commerce with all the world.
and separation of church and state. (" Hear," and cheers.)
In these views and objecte they would command entire spa-
pithy and unqualified approbation throughout Great Bri-
tain, not because they had returned hint, but benne, they
had vindicated those principles. Ile might possibly meet'
in the House of Commons some persons who might
smile in derision at the man, but when they saw
the number (6,288) by which he had been returned,
they could not smile in derision at his principles ;
and the worst arithmetician in the house would at

least olaratand that. He was se had of what be
W dam Kam that be was brides an his smarm to attack
be bat fir ate ihr wham he wiled
Mass Rumen. Hallamlad haw rapeumond by a Rabb-
mom winos mod Anises esammadod the anima of
eamatitnamia. K• le Hai. Wag, be was • Wir INS",
affable, aril spinal& man, but, like aim MMus, b was
more ft hi mom* a laws and load a temp it dragons than
to rayons* • pun ometitsmay like They
wanted sasa ia who would may mint duly
and what May been; awn who *mid nay, wait!
Wahl* tint di* warn ready to slop the auppliss till
Jude. lei boom *am le an injured peinat- like the
Satima. Tbsi speech at Kr. Karam Osborne,
trak gams to his (Kr. creatures, and it proved him
not se be that mot idiom o who samilisad kis in-
depositing* wham la west Into eke haws, sad lika • piece of
deed roofen ant* in the wake atm dally nainaltse; there-
fore he viand in no kiss is far libbilames, Gni bids was
just the glass to imp him in, and to ea for Mr. Haber= as
they had Mum fee limo Three Ann he Mr. Oshaeno !
(Great abooriag.) He (Kr. Mamma) pledged bdoaself to go
into the bons an iadapondent man—not as a party loan, or
• fictiome man. His predilections were with the govern-
meat. No one could hays read the history of that
party, and of particular members of it, without respecting it
and them. He would give them an honest and unasked
support when their measures were just, and suited to
the just wishes and rights of the people, but he
would vote with any party for measures which he
thought better than those of the government. He as-
pired to no higher title than that of the people's man,
and he wished it to be ins-ribed on his escutcheon, firstly,
that he feared God, and next, that he was the man it the
people (Great cheering and applause.)
Sir W. CLAY said that, in returning thanks for the high
honour they bad again conferred on him in electing him as
one of the representatives of that great, enlightened, and in-
telligent constituency, he felt it to be his duty, in justice to
himself, to advert to some circumstances connected with the
contest which had just terminated. In the most perfect
good tumour, he would comment for a moment on the state
of the poll. His hon. colleague had adverted to it with par-
donable exultation ; to him (Sir W. Clay) it was a sub-
ject of leas pleasurable emotion. (Hear, bear.) There were
circumstances which had contributed to this which were to
he considered as extraneous to the merits of the contest. In
the first place, the result of the election was the reward, and
the just reward, of the efforts and exertions made
by the supporters of his hoe. colleague; and secondly,
it was the result of the admirable organisation of their plans.
On his part there had been no effort and no organisation.
(" Hear !" " No! " " True !") He returned his best thinks
' to those friends whom he had been able to see, and whose
exertions, so far from undervaluing, he accepted and thanked
them sincerely for. He had only been released from parlia-
ment on Friday week, and there had been no time to make
arrangements consonant to the manner in which the electors
of the Tower Hamlets should have been treated. In addition
to that, be would frankly confess, although it would involve
him in a charge of vanity and presumption, that he had such
confidence in the kind feeling of the electors, that he really
did think that little exertion on his part was necessary.
There was an impression that there bad been a coalition be-
tween himself and one of the other candidates who had not
been successful. He had no hesitation in saying, that
if there had been that impression, the supporters and
friends of his honourable colleague were perfectly right
in giving him their undivided support. But that Mt-
presaion was unfounded, and he never would in any
contest for the Tower Hamlets hove attempted to dictate the
second vote. The result of the poll could not be taken as a
token of disapprobation of his political conduct. This elec-
tion was a moat important manifestation of the great and
strong enthusiasm for which the nonconformists bad always
been celebrated, and, in addition to the manifestations else-
where, constituted a sign of the times that no government or
legislature could afford to neglect. (" Hear, hear," and
cheering.) He again repeated, for the filth time, hie deep
gratitude for the honour they had done him. For the fifth
time he was their representative, and he thanked them now,
as he had before, for their continued confidence. He
thanked them for having first placed in his grasp the object
of his ambition, that of being the independent representative
of a great unbooght, unbisased constituency. He had been
that for 15 years, and he thanked them for their confidence.
If, instead of placing him below Ws hon. colleague on the
poll, they had thought proper to discord him altogether, and
chosen some other member, he would have bowed with
patience to their decision, and, to the end of his life, his gra-
titude to them would never have been effaced. He was
about eosin to go into the House of Commons, and he would
resume his former course. (" No, no," and cheers.) His
hon. colleague had boasted of being as good • conservative
as any man, and he (Sir W. Clay) would boast that he was
as good a reformer as any man ; and he would not yield to
his hon. colleague in that respect, though he might differ
with him as to the mode of carrying out their principles. It
s was his opinion that they should proceed cautiously ; and
that they would retard and not accelerate the march of
constitutional reform by doing too much at once, and
that by steps 60 rash and ill-considered, disgust and
alienate those numerous and influential classes without
whose aid no reform ever was, or could be, carried.
He was 'sincere but cautious reformer; and in endeavour-
big to reader the institutions of the country more in moor-
dance with civil and religious liberty he never would forget
the great objects for which they were created, the well-being
of society. While he yielded to no man in a desire to ame-
liorate our constitution, he would never peril the puce of
the country or the security of property, or interfere with
every man's receiving and enjoying the fruits of his industry.
He thought that his bon. colleague would be a valuable
accession to the House of Commons. (Great cheering.) He
would make a gond working member, and he would always
find him (Sir W. Clay) by his side. The hon. baronet con-
cluded by stating that the local interests of the borough
should always have his best attention, and retired amidst
considerable applause.
General Fox, on presenting himself, was received with a
mixture of applause and disapprobation ; but it was evident
that the merry and good-tempered manner in which be
bore his defeat bad canted strong sympathy for him. Ile
said that his Usk, unfortunately for him, was a short one.
He came to thank those friends who had supported him for
their exertions in his cause. So far from saying that no
exertions bad been made on his behalf, he was prepared to
say that the greatest possible exertions had been made for
him ; and he could only add, that it was not the feeling of
the Tower Hamlets that he should be elected. He adverted
with sorrow to the absence of those friends who formerly
supported him. He should always regret that those friends
of civil and religious liberty, the diuenters, had thought fit
to desert him on this occasion. As to the measure which
had lost bim his election, he did not believe that it was in-
tended to introduce the interference of the church In educa-
tion. As a beaten candidate, he could only thank his friends.
With regard to the gentleman who had been elected, he
hoped that if, after having served them faithfully for
seven years, as he (Gen. Fox) had done, he happened to
differ ftom them oa • temporary measure, instead of finding
himself on the poll 6,268, he would find himself 2,622.
(Laughter and cheers.) The gallant general retired amidst
universal manifestations of applause and good feeling,
After the usual formal votes of thanks, the proceedings
terminated.