The Sun.
London, England, 1852-07-05 00:00:00

4-2;atlit.

LONDON, MONDAY, JULY 5, 1852.

Dectioneering intelligence so entirely absorbs
public curiosity at the present moment, that it be-
comes imperative upon us to comment, in the first
instance, on the prospects opened to the Liberal
Party by the recent dissolution of Parliament. Al-
ready there are no less than thirty•three nominations
fixed for to-morrow. It is manifest, therefore, that
the time for deliberation has passed by, and that the
period for action has arrived. Foremost, of course,
in local consideration to ourselves, come the elections
for the Tower Hamlets and Greenwich, but more
especially, the all-important election for the city of
London. The nominations in these three are
among those fixed for to-morrow. Besides
which there are thirty more scattered through the
provinces. There are the Liberal boroughs of Ash-
burton, of Ashton-under-Lyne, and of Bradford, the
Liberal boroughs of Coventry, of Evesham, and of
Halifax, the Liberal boroughs of Hertford, of Shef-
field, and of Yarmouth. There are Aylesbury, and
Bewdley, and Cardiff ; there are Liverpool and Ly-
mington, and Newcastle-on-Tyne ; there are North-
ampton, and Nottingham, and the city of Oxford ;
there are Newcastle-under-Lyne, and Peterborough,
and Portsmouth; there are Preston, and Reading,
and Salford ; after which come alphabetically Shrews-.
bury, and Stroud, and Tam worth, together with
Wigan, and Windsor, and York. All with their
nominations fixed for to-morrow ! " Thirty-three"
in the aggregate. This looks something like activity,
It compensates, at last, for all the delays which have
taken place in regard to the dissolution. It affords
promise that, before many more days hare elapsed,
the necessary excitement of electioneering will have
been passed through—an event .which, considering
the rancour of parties, the ardour of factions, and the
zeal of religionists, cannot but be matter, when it
arrives, of very profound satisfaction. In the ma-
jority of fc
ht placesiaot n
othf e itt h
probable
rs
vbt
aao
rbl el
oer
ua
31)
result
as
dl la
vtiekisl known owbne
Those ai
n-
nu well
t
rtheaedysel
localities where the issue is altogether a sub-
ject of Conjecture form the exceptions. So far
things must be admitted to be, in
a great measure,
satisfactory. Nevertheless it were unwise for the
Liberal party throughout the United Kingdom to
be in any single instance over-confident. Before
this we have repeatedly had occasion to deprecate
the course followed in too many cases, where, feeling
certain of a triumph to the cause of reform the
electors have consented to witness the simultaneous
appearance upon the hustings of three or four, and
sometimes even of five or six, different candidates out-
bidding each other in the liberality of their
sentiments and the comprehensive philanthropy of
their principles. This proceeding we still continue to
protest against as not only foolish from its temerity, but
culpable from its affording the Conservative party an
otherwise unattainable opportunity. In illustration
of this we adduced on Saturday the unfortunate re-
sult of the general election in 1832 at Finsbury,
where a Radical constituency was compelled to wit-
ness the return of a Conservative representative in the
person of Mr. SPANKIE, simply because the electors
had been unwise enough to bring forward four
instead of two (or at the most three) Liberal
candidates. Against the recurrence of any such
mishap we would earnestly warn those electors who
are seriously interested in securing tha triumph of
the Reform movement.

Finsbury and Glasgow afford just now, unhappily,
the two most remarkable examples of the same
rashness on the side of the Liberals, against which
we have so repeatedly protested. Happily at the
former place there is no prospect of any Conservative
opposition—so that the Radicals will have the satis-
factien, at any rate, of fighting it out comfortably
amongst themselves. Even this division in the
constituency we cannot, however, but regret. It is,
nevertheless, possible at this moment, at the eleventh
hour, for the electors to simplify the difficulty of the
question submitted to them es to which of the five
Liberal candidates shall be accepted by rallying
round the two men who of all are the most unfettered
by the ties of party, and who of all are consequently
the fittest persons to be chosen as their represent:-
tivee—THOMA3 DUNCOMBE of course, and with him
JAMES WYLD as his colleague. Fortunately for both
candidates they are up to the present moment
very generally regarded as the "favourites."
We are fain therefore to anticipate that the
majorities polled in their favour will be over-
whelming. Glasgow, unfortunately, is very dif-
ferently situated. Against four Liberal candidates
there has been opposed a solitary Conservative. It
is scarcely fair, we thin k, to the constituency for two
or, at any rate, for one of these four Liberal candi-
dates to have unnecessarily thrust themselves for-
ward for selection. In endeavouring thereby to ad-
vance their own interests it may so happen that they
will materially injure the interests of the Liberals of
the locality, and therefore the interests also of the entire
body of Reformers in the United Kingdom. Neither
is,f
Glasgow it fair, do we conceive, to the two representatives
in the last Parliament—JOHN MACGRE"
seats
GOIt and ALEXANDEP Heeree--men who honourably
fulfilled th
-en hopes of those who in 1847 accorded
thin the Imperial Legislature. Both Mr.
ALEXANDER ALISON, the wealthy iron-master, and
Viscount
JOHN R u
I‘llnGurtre the brother-in-law of Lord
usseae, we ld have more effectually
aided the cause they
pretend to have so much at
heart by refraining from thrusting themselves
upon, the
notice
of the constituency, and
thereby dividing
the strength of the Liberal
electors in the presence
The good sense of the Liberal a Conservative candidate.
in Glasgow may save theme, possessors of the fran-
chisehowever, from any
evil consequence from this most
At Evesham, again, it is somewhats unfortunate that
t mistaken inanmuvre.
three Liberal candidates Evesham,be
have
against Sir H. Wreeouonne, a
and Mr. BLAYNEY, a supporter of the
eral Conservative,
La brought forward
Liberal
Govern-
ment. Two Liberals it were requisite,
bring forward ; but three on tehf course, to
of two Conservative opponents), cone presence
isite,etre just
" one too moray_ Possibly the
in the course of his remarks addressed to
of the three for the Lilaeeta electors of EveshaYea'iman
„Tohsos'essors of the franchise, observed the othert
ee wp
evening in the local town-hall, " that he had been
invited to stand for Finsbury, Southwark, the Tower
Hamlets, Lincoln, Greenwich, and other places ; but
he had rejected them all, and would stick to Evesham."
That candidate was no other than the eloquent and
liberal-minded Mr. Sergeant WILKINS, whom the
electors of Evesham will, we doubt not, repay for his
preference of themselves as a constituency, by return-
ing as their representative in the new Parliament.
A rather amusing disclosure, but one reflecting the
highest honour'upon hineselt; was made the
other evening by
the electors of Leeseam. After hinting that the
elec-
tion by unfair means, he continpued—" Since
Sergeant WILKINS while addressing
other candidates' friends were romoting their
been ir. Evesham no less 13 gentlemen bad
offered him their services.he had
One
finger to hi 3 nose significantly), it won't do for you to lose of these said—. Sir,.
your election' (putting his
Weercies) said he did not mean Y), and he (Sergeant
the fellow added—' Well, youkt:o do so; on which
and means of iesuring it ;'
ordered his
clerk to kick that fellow into the street.'
the way he served them all. lie
en whiweilthhere are ways
wouldTuat was
nothing to do with any lawyer." Lee- p have
like this cannot be other n-he than satisfactory to
a sincerely honest, liberal, and enlightened cenretittr)
ency, and therefore we regard the return of Sergeant for the borough of Evesham as among the
number number of electioneering probabilities. Before now,
much of the' responsibility in reference to the elec-
tions, reposed upon the candidates themselves and
their immediate supporters—it has devolved almost
entirely upon the electors, and of that responsi-
bility the latter wilt. be enabled to relieve. themselves
very rp.2eculy by cmscientiouily selecting thi men
, . •