The Sun.
London, England, 1852-04-13 00:00:00

z y ze. r

GATESHEAD ELECTION.

TO E EDITOR OF THE GATESHEAD OBSERVER.
------tii
Sir, have to beg'that you will lay the enclosed , •
correspondence before the public, by affording it a
place in your columns.
It is necessary for me to premise, that I have
long been made sensible of an organized plan being
adopted in this borough, by Mr. Walters and some
of his party, to injure my public character by the
unscrupulous use of misrepresentation and ?alsehood.
So long ds these attacks were confined to anony. .., .
mous libellers, and to certain, of Mr. Walters's known
associates, I felt that my best course was to. meet
them with silence; but finding that, at a public
meeting held on the Low Fell on the 23rd ult., Mr.
Walters had come forward in person as the abettor
of this system, I saw that the time was come for me
to defend myself. I thought it was due, equally to
to myself and to those who honoured me with their
confidence, not tamely to allow a. person speaking
openly and with the authority of a certain position in
society, to accuse me of conduct which involved a
high degree of political profligacy. I accordingly ad-
dressed the following letter to my friend Captain
Weatherley, in reference to certain of Mr. Walters's
mis-statements on that occasion.
No. I.
"My dear. Sir,—l shall feel greatly obliged tq you, if,
on the receipt of this letter, you will wait on Mr. Ralph
Walters, and ask him whether that which appears in the
Gateshead Observer of this day. as the report of a speech
delivered by him on the Low Fell, on Tuesday, the 23d
inst., be in substance correct. If Mr. Walters do not
wholly deny its correctness, I request that you will do
me the favour to call his particular attention to the fol-
lowing paragraphs:—
" 1. Thatal voted against Mr. Trelawney's motion for
the abolition of church rates.
" 2. That, when various proposition 'wore before the
House of Commons for granting an annuity to Queen
Adelaide, I always thought the largest amount was the
beat, and hat I was one of those who voted that 100,0001.
per ann hould be settled on the Queen.
"3. at I was one of those who voted an annuity
of 50,000/. per annum to the King of the Beigians, and
and 20,0001. per annum to the late King of Hanover.
" I will place in your hands the facts of each of these
ohargee seriatim.
" I did-not vote at all on Mr. Trelawney's, motion. I
was ill at this time, and
.I paired off with Mr. Chapman,
of Whitby, in favour. of the motion.
" With respect tq the late Queen Dowager's annnity;--
wherein my condudt is described with so mach invidious
detail, that annuity was settled before I was in Parlia-
ment. Every part of this statement is erreneous-
" The annuity granted by Parliament to King Leopold
was voted about the year 1817, and has never since been
the subject of a vote. Mr. Walters's assertion is, there-
tore, again erroneous.
" The annuity granted to the late King of Hanover
was voted by Parliament before I was born. It is true

that I refused to violate the engagement af►,er Parlia-
ment had made it, but that is a different question. Mr.
Walters has again, therefore, asserted what is not true.
" I cannot doubt that Mr. Walters will at once adopt
the only course open to a gentkman who has done un-
intentional wrong to another—that of making frank and
immediate reparation for it.—Believe me. my dear air,
yoars very truly, " WILLIAM HUTT.
" London, Saturday Night, March 27, 1852."
On Thursday the let of April, I received this an-
swer from Ciptain Weatherley :
No. 11.

"My dear Sir,—l did not receive your letter and its
accompaniment till this morning. I immediately called
on Mr. Walters in accordance with your rt quest. As I
did not find him at home, I lett word with his clerk
that I would cell on him again this morning at ten
o'clock. I have ju=t seen him. On findiog myself with
Hr. Walters I immediately laid before him the facts as
you have stated them. lam happy to say that I found
him disposed to take the proper course for a man of ho-
nour on such an occasion. He expressed his readiness
to contradict publicly his previous assertions, if he found
them inaccurate; hut he asked for a little time to exa
mine the facts. This I agreed to.
" Believe me, yours very faithfully,
"J. D. WEATHERLEY.
" Newcastle, 31st March, 1852."
On the receipt of this I immediately replied as fol-
lows :

No. 111.

"My dear Sir,—l was much pleased to learn from you
that Mr. Walters was disposed to set himself right in
this business by the only course open to a man of honour
on such an occasion.

" I would, however, beg to observe, that Mr. Walters's
contradiction of the false charges brought by him against
me should be given in writing, as well as his apology.
Words uttered at a public meeting, even if otherwise
satisfactory, may not be distinctly heard or fully under-
stood by all who are present; and the reparation which
Mr. Walters seems to meditate might consequently fall
short of what is due to me for the injury be has done me.
" I concur in the propriety of your granting Mr.
Walters time to make the inquiries he desires; for, al-
though a gentleman should not make these serious
charges without being at once prepared to establish them
by evidence, I wish to deny him no facility of justifying
his conduct. I would only observe that Mr. Walters
should be diligent in his investigation :—First, because
lam suffering undeservedly by every hour that his
charges against me pass uncontradicted; and, secondly.
because his honour and character for veracity aro called
in question.

" Believe me, yours very truly,
an, April 1, 1852: " WILLIAM HUTT.,
-.;ariririf§itrailitarn NrdiderEVVlSSl-
..sys, on the 3th' of April I addressed the following
letter to him. I felt that Mr. Walters was exceeding
all reasonable indulgence by the time he was requi-
ring to investigate the truth of his own charges, of
the real nature of which he might be satisfied in five
minutes by consulting " Hansard's Debates" (a copy
of vvhich is in the library of the Philosophical So-
ciety of Newcastle), or any other Parliamentary
record.

"No. IV.

"My dear Sir,—l am greatly mortified to be com-
pelled to infer, by your silence, that you have been un-
able to bring this unpleasant affair with Mr. Walters to
a termination of some sort. I was very willing to grant
to Mr. Walters any reasonable time to ascertain whether
the grave charges he had brought against me could de-
rive justification from facts, but I cannot allow his re-
searches to go on for ever.
"If Mr. Walters shall not be prepared, by the time
this letter reaches you, either to withdraw his charges or
to substantiate them,. I must conclude that he is trying
to trifle with us, and that be is designing to escape from
the position in which his erroneous statements hay.
placed him. "Yours very truly,
" London, April 5, 1852.
" WILLIAM HUTT.
Oa the 7th mat. I received a brief note from Capt.
Weatherley, informing me that, up to the previous
day, Mr. Walters had agreed to nothing.
Mr.
Walters bad then had a full week to ascertain how
far the imputations he had made against me could be
gentlemen thewreafsursee,ekthinagt he
to
on in which his
justified by fact. .1 apprehendedp,odti
was aimibg at delay, and that he
escape by cbicanery from the
repaired
st
, I ethoma
dtehnae
nNn oionwrttehpri.vaicOeewda
disregardt,mottotdrhneLinogn,dotthe
e, obligationsaBl
wl'hiiiresidacipaYtit.iWeatherly, who informed me that he had seen
atM rl
a.
sr,' able (
ter stasre.v
Walters)eral times
hadin vain. However, that
butit bthrlt's acknowledged he was
to my vote on Mr. Trelawney's
minoetiroro,,,r
charges, refused to
hmeaknellttgheisd adztihssiiiiogn otos
establish thenl pheeertet
to his other
them. Astonished that any one in the posi-
tion of a candidate
t or Parliament should be willing,
for any consid,- thus to disregard the first laws
of social moralltax:". , I determined, before taking the
last and painful step ' which the circumstances of my
on me, to make a personal appeal to
Mr. Walters.ps I accordingly wrote to him the 101-1
1 lowing letter:—

No. V.
" Half-Moon Inn, Gateshead, Bth April, 1852.
" Sir,—l have this day seen Capt. J. D. Weatherley,
and I have understood from him that you decline to
withdraw the charges which you brought against am at
the public meeting held on Thursday, the 23d ult., at the
Low Fell, Gateshead.
" I beg to ask you whether you persist in that refusal?
" Tho bearer of this letter awaits your reply.
" Your obedient Servant,
" Ralph Walters, Beq. " W ELLILDI Hun."
Mr. Walters sent back the verbal reply, that "
had given his answer to Capt. ,Weatherley, and that
he bad nothing further to say.' I then immediately
closed this disagreeable intercourse, as far as I am
concerned, by the following letter :
No. VI.

" Gibside, Bth April, 1852, Thursday Evening.
" Sir,—As you have refused to retract the false
charges which you made against me, after the falsehood
of them had been pointed out to you, I am compelled to
tell you that you have been guilty of wilful untruth, sod
that you are unfit society for men of veracity and honour.
" Yours, So.,
" Ralph Walters, Edq. " WILLIAM HUTT.'
I hope that my constituents and the public will be
e
satisfied, after perusing this statement, that I hav
done everything in my power to confront my
A fruuoli
and to test the fidelity of his assertions. .----
evidence of his veracity and candour, his future
ihave the
ments will be more justly appreciated.--
honour to be, Sir, your obedient servant,
WILLIAM JoIUTT.
Gibside, Friday Evening. _rasver-

Felswdereeeu'rt
h: 8 I
In:::
tourdramay.lo.—The
sdaltehket:ee
was
-
BARNET GREAT CATTLE
great April fair of Barnet terminate Thebeat
kinds of store beasts of all breedscommande high pric
first day (Thursday), and . es. For in-
ferior beasts there was a Buyersdepi:ession,wboth in prices and de-
mand, throughout the
trade, scarcel
no animation in thee
of cows for dairy a sale being effected.
The best descrio
^ lion of
were no ry purposes maintained
satisfactory prices.
What telv horses were sale on
Saturday.left unsold
were readily disposed
of at high
on Thursday
jf sought after realising•prices. Ponies of all aorta
were eager . I remunerative
mid-day the fair fields were cleared. figures. By
itirovERTISEMENT.3—Tur, E
AND 001..LowAy's Pmts.—An astounding cure by this miraculorS
Lordship's letter, dated i,
Villa
had failed. See extract from hi/
Professor liolloway—sir , Messina, Leghorn, Feb 21, 1845.
fected a cure of a disorder I beg to acquaint you that your pins haveef.
eminent of the faculty, in my liver and stomach which all the most
been able to eft Y, at home and all over the continent, had nc4
rienbad. kect ; nay, not ever the waters of Carlsbad or Ma.
Signed) .
Cure any disease ' ALDBOSOUGH." These wonderful pills win
Ointine t ase of the liver or stomach.—Sold OW R 0110191,"
11 / at il. t
1;1 all ~,,..,,, o essor Holloway's Establishment, 244, Strata
'MK. ---'
1141
. L"`"Cille Tenders throughout the civilised