The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1826-06-09 00:00:00

T ABLIE OF THE PLACES RETURNING MEMBERS
TO PARLIAMENT,
TIM NUMBER ELECTED FOR EACH, THE NUMBER or
VOTERS, AND AMOUNT OF INHABITANTS.

THE BRITISH PRESS.

ELECTWN L

'TELLIGENCE.

READING, JUNE 7. 1826.
'Vetterlay the corporate body proceeded in awe to a hustings,
erected in the 3latket.place, and read his Majesty's proclamation
for summoning a new Parliament; and fixed the election of this
borough to commence on Monday morning, at eight o'clock. The
candidates are the old Members, Messrs. Pallier and Monek, and
Messrs. Wakefield and Spence. Ail business in the town is Mill..
pletely at a stand ; prisons of all statimts appearing to be con-
cerned only in preparing for the approathing contest. Mr. Spence
has filled the town with copies of a publication, by the Rev.
Joseph Blanco White, and another pamphle,, by Mr. John
Poyndert but these works seem to excite but little attention
among the inhabitants. El -ctioneering squibs from both parties
fly thick ; some of them couched in terms by uo means courteous.
The windmas of all the milliners' shops are prolo.ely decorated
with the colouts of the diffbrint eandictres; and everything nor-
tends a sharp conflict for the honour of representing the borough.
In consequence of the coalitim now openly acknowledged between
Mr. Spence and Mr. Wakefield, many of the most respectable of
the Tory inhabitants, who have never in any imtance countettanc.si
Mr. Wakefield, have promised to give 'dumpers for Mr. Mont+,
on the ground of his being a neighbour ; this proceeding has put
that gentleman's return beyond all question, and hat rated a
jealousy between the new friends, Messrs. Spence and Wakefield.
In the meantime Mr. Fyshe Palmer is pursuing a steady enure?,
and his friends are full of confidence ; he gains strength in foe,
cm" day. The general opinion seems to be, that Mr. Wakefield
Is sinking fast; while Mr. Spence and his committee are once.
mitting in their exertions to build their fortunes on his ruin.
The contest will present something new; as there will be, in the
first place, a struggle between Spence and Wakefield, for the
sup-rinrity, and then the winner will engage with Mr. Fyshe
Palmer. The Mayor has appointed Mr. Thesstger to be his as-
sessor, and the election is expected to last four days.

YORK ELECTION.
(From the York Courant, June 6 1
Thin morning the respective.candidates went to the Cloth Halls,
where the ass mblage of persons was very numerous.
Lord MILTON first presented himself' to the assembly, and was
greeted with loud cheers. He spoke as follows :—Gentlemen,—
A long period has now elapsed since I had first the honour of pre.
sentieg myself before you as a candidate for the honour of repre-
senting this county in Parliament, and I assure you I derive no
little satisfaction from finding, in the reception I have met with
here this day, that I have ro reason to think ylitir filendnhipliont
been diminish. d. (Cheers.) You have now assembled under
different eiraimetances; you see assembled in the first degree of
reform in that house of Parliament, which, in my opinion, ought
to he carried to a greater extent : but, Geatlemen, when last I had
the honour of addressing you from this place, measures were in
contemplation to send representatives to Parliament from this town.
Parliament, however, determined otherwise; they demded that it
was too important a trust to be confided to the town of Leeds, and
they decided that it should be confided to theextensive and merman.
tile county of York. You have now, for the fleet time, an additional
right conferred upon you—you have now, wieh only two exceptions,
—the city of London and the borough of Weymouth—the right
which no other town or county possesses, that of sending four persons
to re present you in Parliament. Under these circumstances I now
present myself to you, in union with another gentleman
long known to you, who by his great virtues and abilities
is well entitled to your respect and confidence. ‘Ve stand before
you on the broad principle of liberty. It was on that principle
Not offered myself to your notice, and it is on that principle I have
guided myself on every occasion. (Chem- .) Gentlemen, there
are several topics upon which you will expect from me some obser-
vations ; the tient is ore on which for a long period endeavours
have been made to inflame the people of England, and calculated
to excite Misapprehension and delusion, and this by men who have
not only their own interests in view, but by men who take very
narrow views in general, and who say that if certain measures were
adopted, the religious establishment of this country must fall, and
that if the principles of toleration were carried to a greater extent,
the Established Church would be in dange. There may be some
who sincerely believe it, hat i confess it affords to me a bad speci-
men of their judgment, when they set up their opinions against
those of pennons much more enlightened than themselves. (Cheers)
The principles; upon which I found myself here, is the the right
of every man to worship God according to his own conscience.
It appears to me that if there is an inalienable right in mankind,
it is that of every man to worship God as lie thinks proper. It is
on that principle 1 found myself in thinking that the principles of
religious liberty ought to he carried further, and, gentlemen, when.
ever the cry of " No Popery" is heard, recollect that every man has
a right to worship God as he thinks proper. And in addition to
thatinalienable right,l apprehend, there is another which belongs to
British subjects, which is that they shall be admitted to all the pri.
vileges which the law erste in them. This is my opinion, gentlemen,
and I have stated the grounds on which it rests. I will not go the
length of saying that a case may not be made out, nor that it was not
made out 160 yars ego, to deprive certain sects of their privileges.
It was for the p enervation of the rights of Englishmen against the
tyrant family which then sat on the throne. Let me ask you again
if that stale of things can continue.—if the Roman Catholics will
be likely to be made instrumental in the hands of the House of
Brunswick to oppress the people of England ? That is My ponsiole.
Let us then look at Ireland, with her seven millions of inhabitants,
five of them Roman Catholics. Di not these chamt inns of the
Protestant cause,tionie of whom have sat in the House of Commons,
and others who ate ambitious to sit there. know, and why have they
not told you, that in the county of Illaeo there are 22,000 Catholics.
who in less than 14 days will bate the privilege of voting for
representatives in Parliament? Were they aware that the Ca-
tholic& formerly in Munster, as well as the freeholders of York-
shire, had the privilege of voting ? The champions of the Pro-
testant cause did not know it, or it they did know it. they
have been guilty of something mare than ignorance ; but I
acquit them of any such intention. There may be many persons
before me who may not be aware of that fact, but the ignorance of
those who do not study the statute books is excusable. lint
to attempt to legislate for you is unpardonable. Gentlemen,
let me ask you what is the state of the Irish and English
Catholics ? If you are desirous of maintaining the Protestant reli-
gion, let me ask is it more likely to be maintained by a latholie.
aristocracy or not ? I leave it to your candid judgment when you
go home to form gout opinion on the subject. ( Here a person in
the crowd cried out " No Popery."l. Let my friend who calis out
" No Popery" recollect that he claims the right to worship God
according to his opinion—let him not pride himself' by that spirit
even to deprive others of that which he claims as a right. Now, gen.
demen, there is another topic that has particularly engaged the
invention of Parliament during the last Session ; I mean the ques.
lion of the Corn Laws. Before I enter on this subject, let me pre-
mine that it is not my intention to excite any hostility on that sub.
;met ; I only allude to it to steer what my opinions ate. I was
alwaa of opinion that a case mast be made oat for insuring to this
country a supply of corn, and the only ground on which it can be
made out is, the cause of national independence: but if all the corn
commuted in tlthi country can be grown within it, then all other
consitieratians must fall to the ground. But I think, gentlemen,
and you will think with me, that national Independence is of the
greatest consequence. If this country is to be placed at the mercy
of foreign *rates, we can neither enjoy the bounty of Providence
nor the benefit of human wisdom. No fear need be entertained

from the admission of foreign torn; 1 believe, on the contrary,
that the effect of that would be to wend the produce of our industry
in return for the corn we might import from them. This again
brings me to the principle of liberty, which is my ruling principle.
Gentlemen. I am not aware that there are any other topics to
which I should direct your attention, but en the latter subject—the
Corn Laws, I entreat you net to entertain any exaggerated state.
men:s ; I do not suppose that if admitted at an exaggerated low
price, it would fall much lower than at present. Recollect that
if corn falls, wages will also tall; I do not mean that the
ieptstediate consequence of the fall in the price of corn would
Se a fall in the price of wages; but this 1 mean (sail the Noble
Lord), that the price of labour has a tendency to assimilate itself to
the necessaries of life; I wish you to bear that effect in your mind.
I am riot aware of any other subject to which I need particularly
direct your attention. In my opinion, the representation os it now
stands is not adapted to the weaith and intelligence of this coon.
try. It appears to me that there are a great variety of classes of
individuals in this wend), that do not carry into the House
of Commons that influence they ought to do. Gentlemen, al-
low ate to take my leave of you, and I trust when my excellent
friend and myself present ourselves to your notice in the Castle.
yard at York, we shall have the honour of a full attendance.
(Loud and continued cheeving.)
JOIIN MARSHALL, Esq. then presented himself, and was
greeted with cheers. His voice was somewhat inaudible, but from
what we collected, he expressed his thanks to those gentlemen who
bad joined in the invitation to hint to come forward, which call he
bad obeyed. They would recollect that when the corrupt borough
of Gramponed was disfranchised for a misuse of its privileges, it
was first intended to give it to the mercantile town of Leeds, and
If It was given to this town. might it not have been expected of us
to choose commercial men to protect and watch over our intermit *
Now that the privilege was girea to the county at large, were we to
abandon our interest Ile offered himself, if they thought him
worthy, as the representative of th6r interests ; he thought they
would agree with him that the commercial interests of the king.
dour had never been odequately represented in Parliament.
If they had :beezi so represented they should not have had
those Corn Laws, of which they lied to much reason to complain.
Those laws were injurious to every this of the community, except
those who are the receivers of rents. He believed :hey were equally
injurious to the farmer as to the manufacturer—that they caused a
great fluctuation in prices—anti that it would he to the interest of
both that they should be done away with. If they were of that
opinion, it was their duty to choose Representatives who would con. ,
vey that opinion, and ro obtain such a repeal or revision as the na. I
Lure of the country requires. He did not advocate any hasty mea.
cures or slashing reform, but wished it to be gradual. His Noble
Friend (Lord 31ilton), had anticipated him in.what he had to offer,
and lie would not take up their time by adding anything to what
he had said. He had declared his opinions publicly and manfully.
and he left them In their hands ; it was unnecessary for him to go
further in ibis subject. it it was their while to make him their Re-
presentative, no endeavours of his *humid be wanting to merit their
choice.—f Loud cheers.)
It to: NJA N (lour, EVI. then introduced Richard Bethell,
Esq.., who he said was a gentleman combining rank, independence
of mind, sound judgment, and great practice and habits of busi-
ness, which eminently, fit him got the attention to which he aspires.
nET IL El. I. (being received with cheers) said, he was sensible
of the great disedvantages under which be must labour after the
appeals which had been made to them by the Noble Lord and the
Gentleman who had preceded him. lie came forward with
ne feeling of hostility to airy man, but in a fair field Jet Ito.