The Sun.
London, England, 1806-11-18 00:00:00

WESTMINSTER ELECTION.

'Yesterday, soon after Mr. Sheridan's appearance
upon the hustings, several pretty girls appeared at
the front of the hustings, decorated in the colours
of Sheridan and Hood, and requested that Mr. She-
ridan should drink their health in some wine negus,
which was borne before them by a waiter from the
tavern of Mrs. Butler, who has been throughout the
Eledion a most ardent friend to Mr. Sheridan. With
this request of the ladies Mr. Sheridan was ..per-
suaded to comply, as did Mr. Whitbread, Mr. B.
Craven, and several other Gentlemen, the friends
of Mr. Sheridan. This ceremony, with properly
accompanying interchange ofcourtesies, being over,
Mr. SHERIDAN paid his respects to the mob, with
many of whom he maintained a whimsical c,nver-
sation. Recognizing his broad-faced friend among
the crowd, Mr. Sheridan assured him, that if evea
he should offer himself as Candidate for Westmin-
ster, he should have his vote in preference to Mr.
Paull. The Right Hon. Gentleman stated, that a
petition against Mr. Berridge, his broad-faced friend,
had been presented to him, accompanied with a
request that he should lay it before the Magistrates,
in order thatßerridge should .be dcprived of hi.;,li-
cence tbr miscondud and rioting. • But although

this petition was subscribed by: several .respabie
men, aeluated, no doubt, by the best motives, still
he could not reconcile it to his mind to make app!i-'
cation for any such purpose. And so far from as-
sisting .any way to deprive:Berridge of h;s.li
-
.cence for any miscdndua or insolence he. might,Use.
at the hustings-, his broad-faced friend might rest
assured—for he would give him his word of ho-..
nour—that no , such thing :should
,take place--
(app/auses).
The following was then declared to be the State Of
the poll

Sir SAMUEL I-100D
Mr. SHERIDAN
Mr. PAULL

5178
4441
422,5

Mr. WHITBREAD stated, that 'Ali-. Sheridan was;
2-head of his opponent on the poll of this day, upon
which that opponent had threatened to Make his
great push,, and that he was
.aboVe• him on the.
whole poll no less than 21.5..,-;-(app/auses. 'Rime
hisses).'
Mr. SHERIDAN observed, that the Gentlemen in
front were many and noisy; and he congratulated
them upon their enjoyments. • It was their privi-
lege to enjoy Si.. Monday, and God forbid that. he
should attempt to interrupt them in that or:any,
other pleasure—(applauses). In promises, he.. had
never dealt much ; but when he had, it was always
his best endeavour to perform. them. : but his op-.
ponent eitheK made promises inconsiderately (he.
'Would not say with a view.to deceive), or had not
the power to fulfil their}'; for' on Friday and Satur-
day last he stated pretty confidently, that he would.
poll 800 voters to,.day. .But of this .number he was
short only about 600—(a laugh). This violation of.
truth; however, was of a piece with the course ge-
nerally pursued by ,his opponents... 7 it-was Of"..a 'piece
with the vile falsehood propagated respeeting .the'
Duke of Northumberland. Need he remark upon
this audacious imposition, which ascribed' to him
words which never had, which never could have
escaped his lips He always had, without any mean
Servility, a due respea for rank ; he had a. just re-
verence Of age r and he hoped that no one who had
gny knowledge of his chara6ter wauld impute to
him, a want of feeling for those infirmities to which
human nature was liable. How. then could it'be
supposed that he would haVe been 0-nifty of utter-
ing the foul libel attributed to him .b; the weak, but,
wicked invention of the enemy. The whole, how-
ever, was perfe6lly consistent with the 'condlia of
thosd who dealt in nothing but falsehood, lies, and
cowardice. He perceived 'that many of those per-
.SOns 'Nere unwilling—they seemed afraid—to:hear
him speak. Indeed, they would put him down al-
together if they could ; they would insult him if
"they dared--still ,he felt no revenge against them ;
on 'the contrary, be .would a6t towards them with
good-humour-: for he was aware of the probability
that, from,his long and a&ive life, he might haYe..-
itaify enenlies 'disposed to abuse, or exeue
'others to *lse him : therefore hostility against him,.
was to be accounted foi. Towards-them who en-
tertained .and a&ed Upon it he felt the. atmostdis'r
dain. Bot Jie.confeSSed that he:was indignant when-
he observed the cruel. and unmanly manner in
which his gallant Friend and Colleague was treated.
'Appearing before, the pople maimed in the service
.of his cotriltry, he could not help feeling ashamed even
for the 'rut-1712.n ad.;OcAtes 'of his adversary--:-that they
•
Would not' grantto him a patient hearing, who, had
:been-so often viCtorious in the 'nation's cause—who
had so recently bled, atid ready tobleed'again
for 'their security-L-(loud 'aplaus'i;s). The Fight
Hon. Gentleman took his leave, thinking his friends
for What they 'had One, and requesting' a cOnti.-
nuance of their -services..

Sir SAMIJEL HOOD 'thanked those who .had sup-
ported the true rights ofthe people, by granting their •
Support to constitutional Candidates,as he•had no
doubt 'the Ele6tors of Westminster ever would ; and
.
'congratulated them on the triumph they had 'obtain
ed. He particululy urged. his friends to • persewre,
in their industry, in order to secure, beyond doubt,
the, triumph of Mr. Sheridan, to, return whom would
do honour to the cause; judgment, and public spirit
of Westaiinsters Until the victory of this_ illustri-
ous man was absolutely secured, be exhorted his
IllendS not- to slacken in their activity. He esteem,
ed and would ever applaud the confidence which
served to incite and invigorate exertion, 'while he
would deprßate that kind of 'confidence Which.bad
any tendency to relax, if not to prevent
,exertion al-
together. An • excess of confidence and a cOntempt
of his powers had already benefitted the enerny,"and'.
therefore he trusted his friends, for the short time
that remained tottermitiate the contest, would :Con,
tinue adively on the alert, particularly for Mr. Sheri- •
don.—(Apptaiises and hisses.)
Mr: PAUL), expressed hope and belief, that the
Independent El2e6tOrs of Westminster were still ca-
pable and willing to preserve the independence of
this great City and the liberties of the Country
from being extinguished by allowing"the base coali,
lion to triumph. The Rear-Admiral had already
talked of triumph, but he would ask of the Hon.
Admiral himself, were he present,. what kind of
triumph he bad obtained? Was it one•Of- which he.
or his colleague had reason to be proud ? Was it a
triumph over the Court, the Aristocracy, the Whigs,
the Tories.; the .Placemen and. Pensioners, and .all -
their combined influence, that a single individual,
standing on popular principles, and supported solely
by spontaneous popular aid, bad been able to con,.
tend against them so successfully that on the thir-
teenth day of the poll he should, have polled-4226
independent•votes ? -Would the Hon. Admiral him, .
self deem it a fair ground for boast, or a gratifica-
tion to his 'gallantry, if opposed to •the Enemy's-
Fleet, he had not obtained a more decided advantage
than Ministers had been able to achieve in this con-
test ? Whatever the issue of this battle might be, he
lad aright to fee) proud in. the refieEtion that the
I-illustrious man, who was now no:more (Mr. Fox)
had not been able, with all . his resources, cause- •
tquence, and connexions, to poll more on the 13th.
day of the poll than he had clone, nor so much—for
he bad this day, been favoured with the'voteg of not
less than t 00 independent men. 'He exhorted the .
people to peresvere, in the same spirit'. He exhort-
(td them for their own sakes—for if he failed in this
contest, they would be the sufferers. Scenes of
pillage and persecution would follow=-such a4-it
was dreadful to contemplate. The coaleSeed Mini•
stry, finding by the progress he • bad already trade;j
that the people, at least such as are :Capable oh-free:.
clx)rn, were against them, would, they Might depend
ta.pon it, take mearaxes t 0 painguish the l'uleo cif tli6

r.
f)eopie altogether. `aslt'ed
Mr. Whitbread, who stood below him, and who
was, he admitted, an Bon. Member of the Party-- he
alluded to, whether his Whig friends bad any tc:iscn
to exult in the progress which their advocate hid
Made on the, poll He would pledge himself to
show that this degraded advocate had not, exclusive
of TOry aid, and the benefit' derived from the fraud
And „imposition of Sir S. Hood, polled altogether
1,300 votes. Indeed, he had no doubt in being able to
establish the proposition, that if this apostate had
stood alOne he could not' have mustered 1000 totes.
addition to the other combinations which had
been brought .against hini in the course of this
Election, the Hon. Gentleman observed, that there
was one whose interference, and. activity excited his
astonishmentnay, his indignation.
.Indeed; it was
impos,sible that any man who had just reverence for
the clerical chara6ter could contemplate this inter-
ference.
without regret,
sand even reprobatiOn, par-
ticularly when it was known that such interference
was not confined to mere application and request to
the :Electors, but Was extended to command •'and
inetrace: H-e-could declare positively, that the. Dean
Of 'Westminster Mid, no later than Saturday last,
issued' his orders to all the Eleaors subjea to, his
influence or authority to .come here and vote for the

Court-Candidate, under the threat of his diSpleasure
and-dismissal from office if they refused—(huses).
He maintained that there was. something the
prosecution oft this contest which betraYed4isecret
that was not unlikely to upset the Ministry itself_;
for the manner in which the majority 'in favour of
the Court Candidates had been obtained would,
when made known, most probably bring to light a
secret that would be completely fatal to their cha-,
rader aid power—(a-,6plaus'es and hisses). • What-
ever the final result of the poll might be,. the-Hon.
Gentleman felt satisfied in the conviction that he
should stand pre-eminent among his CouUtrymen.
C" That you exclaimed Gibbons and Hew-
ngs, "and other 'respectable men" L-accompanied
by-a loud laugh from those. of a different sentiment ]
The Hanourable.GentleMan took occasion,to notice
What' he: called another falsehood frbm the Treasurer
of the Navy. This degraded man had-stated that.
no_ Letters had been sent by: the Duke of-North-
-timberland, stating to the several vestries where he
had -.influence, that he, would not 'suffer his So/1,,
Lord Percy, to stand with such a colleague--Lbut he
(Mr. Paull) could assert the contrary,, - and he could
particularly cite the Letters addressed to the 'Pa-
riShes' St. John's-arid St. Margaret's. Mr. Whit-
bread continues to aid the cause, although he knows
of this fa6t.—[Mr. Whitbread exeraimed, " That
is not true, -do .not knovir of it. I have heard
it asserted and confradiaed, and that's all I knOw.
of it."] Mr. Paull „resumed,- -and asserted, that
there was a Gentleman then • standing by him who
'heard,Mr. Sheridan abuse; the Duke of Northum-
land--(One of your own party; ‘exclaimed- several:
voices, 'Who'd believe him).` The Honourable Gen-
tleman then went on with his abuse of Mr. Sheri-
dan, -,advising the EleEtors not to. clea a man who
_would sell them. The Honourable Gentleman, af,.
ter.tome farther abuse of Mr. Sheridan, concluded
with .an -exhortation to the Eleelors to be a&ive,' and
vi Cory :was still easily attainable;- as there mere
still above 1500 voters unpolled,. from -whom he
or.his friends had obtained promises:- - He -was now
little less than what Mr.. Fox was on the thirteenith
thiy of his celebrated Contest.-yet Mr. Fox was
ofinallyvic-torious. Until the poll-bookS were ac-
- tualk• closed, he could not believe it pOssible` that
the "Independent Ele&ors 'of Westminster. would
stiffer themselves to be intimidated by any riotous op-
position.

it was past five o'clock, and almost quite dark,
when. Mr. Paull concluded.

GLOUCESTER, Nov. 10.

On ;. Thuiridny last came on, at the Boothall, in
'city, the.ele6tion of two RepreientatiVes in Par-
liament for" this county. About ten o'clock, Lord
DURSLEY (as' proxy for his noble uncle, Vice-4d-
Mira' BERKELEY, who is at this, time absent from
England in the service of his country). was escorted
'into town by a very numerous body of Freeholders.;
.above 300 Of whom led the proceision on horse-
back, from Berkeley and the neighbourhood, with
-abotit 40 carriages ; and he vas met atWheatenl?urst
by upwards of 200 more arid ten carriages. Fifty
horsemen and twelve carriages, from'Tewkesbury
and the neighbourhood, arrived too lite to join in the
procession.. This lody- of Yeornanry rode into the,
city; two and two. •

His Lordship's open landan came next, drawn by
_the ~populace, the horses having been preViously
taken off, accompanied by all 'the carriages. Ths
horsemen, as they 'arrived, were drawn up' in two
lines ~in -Westgate-street 3. and the carriages, pre-
ceded ,by the fine band of the Royal North Glou-
cester Militias .and a number of flags and
strearnel:s; passed. down the centre to the 'King's
Head
.from whence his Lordship and his friends
immediately. afterwards proceeded to the place of

Lord EDWARD SOMERSET (our •Cither late worthy*
Member), who had been some days in • town, went
from the Bell Inn soon after ten o'clock, accompa-
nied h} 'a largo and ?host respe&able cavalcade of his
friends,and preceded also by h baud of Music, flags, &e.
,to lle,county Hail, which' Was crowded beyond all
prccedeut on similar occasions indeed, many-Gen-
tlemen were actually exclUded from the Court, by
the esayeinc pressure on all sides:

WILLIikM LAWRENCE, High. Sheriff, immediately
opened the business of the Meeting, and the usual
preliminary foims having been gone through,
Sir Tnomas GUISE proposedVice-Admiral BERKE-
as a Candidate. He was seconded by E.-Pao-
BYN, Esq.

_ .
MUS.G'RAYE, Esq. proposed Lord E. SomEASET.
He was-seconded by S. BROWNE) Esq. •
No
,other 'Candidate appearing, Vice-Admiral
lititKELy and Lord, E. SOMERSET were declared
duly elected.
.The. new Members, after youriiing
their thanks _to the Freeholders, retired with their
Friends to their respealiVe Inns, where splendid
entertainments were provided for that •

After slorp contest for Tregony, in which the
Mayor condOled himself with the stritaest propi'iety
and honour,, the Election has been decided in fa-,
Your of the BARWELL interest, tO the irfinite satis-
faction of every person of reve6lability hi tho nui,;ll.
boarhood.