The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1826-06-28 00:00:00

COVENTRY ELECTION.

(FRON OUR OWN RLP3RTER.)

MONDAY.

(the Herald) did not stop here. Captain Barrie sawAie
this morning extracted into the Preston Chronicle. On
that part which set forth that the "national flag was diagradetFri
being borne in the proeess.on, he started from his swan the hust-
ings, and was with difficulty restrained by his friends from ventioK
his indignation against his opponent, on the spot; after a abort
consultation among his friends, a gentleman (Captaio Mackay)
went to Mr. Wood, called aside that gentle:nail out of the hustiags,
chewed him the obnoxious paragraph, and asked orbether he had
spoken the speech as it appeared in the paper? Mr. Wood
disclaimed it. Captain Barrie agsin sent his frieod Captain
Mackay to Mr. Wood, to say that he would not be satisfied
unless Mr. Wood would state in writing wlnit part of the
paragraph he had spoken, and what he had not. Mr. il'ood
accordingly wrote the following, and sent it to Captain Barrie.
The Captain instantly brought it to me, and permitted me to copy
It for publication :
" I am not answerable for newspaper sports ; but I have no
hesitation in saying, that the report of my speeche is inaccurate
in many important points, and that I did not utter the words as
quoted froin the Preston Chronicle ; and I have furthe- no hesita.
lion in saying, that I never said or meant to imply that Captain
Barrie had in any manner disgraced the national flag ;' or that
he (Captain Barrie) had brought up his men ` to vote against their
consciencya by the price of bribery.'
" June 21, 11126. (Signed} Joiee4 IrooD.l
lige is a sad taLing off' from the niagnifieent rhetoric of di?.
Herold. Winch putt/ is wrong it is hard to say. Whether the
"Journal of Taste" let loose the reins of its imagination for the
sake of making aft ;rho report, or whether the prudent Candidate
swallow td his own words tOr the sake of avoiding the muzzle of the
Captain's pistol, I believe the most equitable adjustmeat of the
mams would he to divide the blame and glory between them. It
is pleasant to add. that the rhetorical flash was but a flros4 ix /tie
pun, and the only relent that startled Mr. Wood's ears was the
rep t!of a Newspaper.

. .
Two o'Cr.ocz.
Wood is mill far ahead of the Captain, and must 00001Ut ,0
till the close of the poll—three o'clock. The successful Candidates
ride iii grand processiop this evening. The Roman Catholics in-
hood to accompany the procession, to evince their gratitude to them
(Manley and IVuot1), for having omitted to put the oath of att-
p-emacy. All is quiet. Cobbett is expected every moment. Capt.
Rinie bears his defeat with the best humour. .
. Fora o'CLoca.
The election is over. The Whig tnd Reformers have won. The
numbers at the final close at three o'clock wt•re—
Ilon. E. G. S. Stanley . 2,9441 Captain Barrie - 1,43
Mr. Wood - 1,974 1 Cobbett . - 119:i
The MAYOR declare the BOR. Edward Georrev Smith Stanley
and John Wood, Es p duly elected to serve the borough of Prcstoh
In Parliturent.

The several Candidates (except Cobbett. who was not extant)
returned thanks in speeches whit o end you to.morrow. and
having left the hustings willt their respective trienda in processional
array, bands playing, colours flying, prozeeded ru their hotel,.
The successful Candidates then made their triumphal parsd
through the town on horseback-11r. Stanley aud his friends in
from—the Roman Catholics in one bt dy after—and Mr. Wood
and his friends bringing up the rear.

COVENTRY. JUNE 26.

The agitation incident to a contested election having, together
with its cause, ceased to exist, the people of this city begin to re.
.ume their wonted occupations, and to apply th4ir attention to the
superintendence and management of their respective businesses,
and the promotion of their several interests. The principal manu-
facture carried on here is the ailk.rthand trade, the magnitude
and importance of which may be ascertained from the.circum-
stance that, in the fabrication of that article alone, employtner.t is
given to no less than 20,000 persons, who are resident in the city
and the surrounding villages. Anything, therethre, that regards
the welfare of so large a portion of his Majesty's subjects must at
all times be interesting; hut at this particular crisis, when a new
system is about to be adopted for the regulatidn of the trade
which has hitherto afforded employment and support tuso consider-
able a body of the people, it must be peculiarly important.. It vial
be remembered that, during the early part bf the late Session of
Parliament, great excitement prevailed in the silk trade generally.
in consequence of the Act of Parliament passed two years befote,
which repealed the restrictions on the importation of silk mano-
faetured goods into this country. and which enacted, that on tits
Zalt of July, 182fi, foreign wet ught silk should be admissible irto
England, upon the payment cf a duty of 30 per cent. Ruin to the
trade was prognosticated by almist all those whose capital was em-
barked in it. The looms were suspended, the poor' rates
creased, and dismay for a season sat on the countenances both of
master and of nia• . The p they of the fr,e trade system was une-
quivocally denounced, and NI ionaries, t'atorists, and book-made
statesmen, were epithets unapar'ngly ap,•lied to his Majesty's 31i.
:deters, by persons who assumed to t tam-elites the humble title of
practical men. And yet what, as relates to the transactions nt
this city, has been the result? Why, a temporary depression of
trade, occasioned partly by fear, and partly by the panic which
lately seized the public mind, succeeded by a full and constant
employment of almost every loom possessed by every weaver. The
late sprirg trade has been as good arid remunerative as at any
former time. Ought not this to operate upon the minds of tb •
nutnufacturers, as a caution to them not to give way to unfounded
apprehensions? and ought it not to induce others to hesitate be-
fore they avail themselves of a ferment thee unwisely. excited, to
impugn the mmeures of an enlightened Governumns? I do not
meats to say that at the present moment the grade is in Cite
flourishing condition ; on the contrary, I am bound to adroit that
within the last few weeks a contiderable defalcation in the tiband
manufacture has taken place, and it is apprehendel that a still
further reduction of employment will occur for some weeks to
come. The best criterion 1 can give as to the extent to Minh
this reduction has hitherto operated, is by stating the feat, that
one large manufacturer of this city, who a month ago disbursed
atittl. a week in wages, paid in the course of the )sat week only
231. and a fraction : and as the majority of the persons whom lie
employs live in the neighbouring villages, this falUng off is not
attributable to the interruption occasioned by the late election,
but is altogether to be assigned (se tip manufacturer him-
self alleges) to a diminution of the demand. Another hart
corroborative of this statement is to be toured in the in.
creased amount of theasseasment to the poor's rates; the ratebeing
now sixteen pence in the pound for the month, whereas minas short
time ago it ISIS ODlTSightll63Ce. But admitting that these facts
are true (and, indeed, I cannot dispute them, for I have the best
evidence that they do exist), the question that au Wulf is,
what is the cause of their existence ?. Wby snoop{ she trade be
reduced and the rates necessarily increased ? The reason whist)
I have heard stated for it is, that the spring trade being over, the
masters will nor commence manufacturing .goods for die setturin
trade, because they are apprehensive that the fancy patterns which
will be imported next month • by the French, when the law comes
into operation, will become the fashion • for- the seisoo, and that,
therefore., any article they might make would be a 'met loss of
capital to them. They consequently feel it ineumbriet, in order to
amid this tom, to wait until they sus see lit: Fteoeh peeterna, and
then they will immediately resume their empkyonent. the
meantime, however, there wilt inevitably b • much.euforiog and
privation on the part of the ope mines. The masters of Coventry
are certainly very intelligen*, and, I believe, humans men, and,
theretore, I should be reluctant to surmise that they would be
guilty of any thing like as act of tennge towards the weavers, on
account of the late success ul appeal n made by the-Latter to the
rtseleetion of Mr. Ellsce and Mr. Moore, who were uniformly sup-
ported by the femur. it is.. however., pretty geeerally believed
iliat the lam will not theme this circuit-vs/Noe. 'tries* two
thee rembhiing —viz. the ignorance o f•what as. to be the
patimins, and the feeling of resentment toward r the mot.
mar possibly alitavate the distresees of the people, if .msty the
fames cause owe to operate. Whether the reauesthee aseignal
be sufficiently moot to !toffy the sumatelon of anclereamit may
admit of considerable doubt. %VIII should not the indienuity of
the English manufacturer be brought into contpetkida with the
? And why also shield n..t the sestet diseerament, and
of oar fair countrywomen hen
ito, and their. pm-
.
beakless-so the prodassise the pi seems
efillertarhos% wh=sesleat. keels. b • ansteikatiety
M*, Its dmambeti,
whams if theyr Mptoeishing
the easager,wed -emiseleit of Awe wieeletsiMla -
tate tosearhell arema-let. was. tbeedbee, Alloashieleliter
is here. Made allasries aeweemiek to piselombisoitegief
'sod et is let spas Wesel( attsi neemasseimeemeary injury.
imtsmattantersemst