The Sun.
London, England, 1837-07-17 00:00:00

REPRESENTATION of CAMBRIDGE.

About eight o'clock on Tuesday evening, according to
previous appointment, the Hon. candidates arrived at the
large room at the Hoop Hotel, and were hailed by the nu-
merous assembly with several distinct rounds of applause.
Mr. RICE first presented himself before the meeting,
and said, Gentlemen, I shall, under circumstances of con-
siderable fatigue, address you, trusting that I shall find your
cordial welcome, as I have ever fonnd it, the best of all
restoratives. Gentlemen, the responsible station which I
have the honour to fill was, your free gift ; it was not
one sought by me ; I made no intrigue for the purpose of
acquiring your support ; between you and me there was no
connection either for good or evil, but as a public man you
invited me, and as a public man I accepted your invitation.
I came forward to represent you upon those prin-
ciples that were adopted by Lord Grey's Government. I
came forward professing those opinions, and upon those
opinions I obtained your support. (Loud cheers.)
Since that period our connection has been unbroken.
I seek not for the henour of being elected a fifth time
as your representative upon any other principles than
those which I have always fearlessly advocated, and which
aro well known to all classes in this town. Gentlemen, the
simple motto of Earl Grey's Government was contained in
three words :—" Peace, Retrenchment, and Reform."
Gentlemen, we are now approaching the seventh year since
Earl Grey undertook the administration of affairs ; we are
now approaching that period which the artizan of this
country adopts as the period of apprenticeship. If I have
served these seven years honestly and faithfully, you will, I
feel assured, receive me again amongst you, and not cast me
forth as an apprentice who has been either inattentive to his
calling or faithless to his trust.--(Cries of " We will not.")
Those principles we have pursued—peace we have pre-
served—the peace of Europe has continued undisturbed—
England has reposed in tranquillity, though our opponents
declared that nothing short of a miracle could preserve peace.
Retrenchment we have prosecuted to the utmost. We have
begun upon our own salaries ; we have reduced those sala-
ries, and then, and not till then, did we feel ourselves at li-
berty to apply to others that principle which we had first ap-
plied to ourselves. We reduced the public expenditure, and
then, in the performance of a duty which we owed to the
people of England, the amount was applied to the reduction
of onerous taxation. It is, to be sure, at this season of the
year, a circumstance which does not present itself with much
force to our minds ; but when Christmas conies, and the
winds begin to blow, and we learn to appreciate the comforts
of a good fire, think then that it was Ministers who relieved
you from the taxation upon fuel.—(Cheers.) If, again, at
!h;st period of the year when evening comes on rapidly, and
it is dark before you return to your families, you long to see
the faces of that wife and those children who contribute in
no mean degree to your happiness, consider again that you
are beholding them by the aid of a light which, under the
auspices of a Liberal Government, is free from the tax that
was imposed upon it by the Tories.—(Cheers.) If any of my
young friends whom I see around me wish to gratify those
they love by the purchase of a new gown, let them remember
that that gown is given at a reduced price ; freed by us from
a tax imposed in the Tory days, for the sake of carrying on
unjust wars with ruinous profusion. Notwithstanding these
benefits, the men who conferred them have been grossly
calumniated—their names have been held up to obloquy—the
Tories have sought to cover them with derision, and to defeat
them by slander and by falsehood—they have been called
apostate Whigs—renegade Whigs—they have been pla-
carded on the walls—they have been pursued by slander until
echoes, shameless as the slanderers themselves, have given
back the vile sounds, feebly it is true, but with not one
iota less of folly or of falsehood—and for what ? Because
they have studied the welfare of the country in seeking to
relieve you from the burdens which the Tories had imposed.
Peace we have preserved—retrenchment we have enforced,
and then comes reform ? Who are you now assembled
here in the free liberty of the town of Cambridge ? What
were you before the Reform Biil was past—to what did
your political interest tend ? It was the Reform Bill that
gave you action, that gave you existence.—( Hear, hear,
hear.) But this was only the first effort. By means of
that Bill another measure was brought forward scarcely
less important than the Reform Bill itself. I allude to
the municipal measure.—(Cheers.) Gentlemen, when I
had the honour of appearing last among you, I did say
that the Municipal Bill would be carried. There are two
points to which I know you will expect me to allude ; first
is the question of the Poor-laws, the second the Ballot.
—(Cheers.) First upon the poor-laws. Now I might
begin by saying that that Bill was supported in Parlia-
ment, not only by the present Government, but by their
opponents, by the Duke of Wellington and Sir Robert
Peel, and most of the principal leaders on that side of
the House. It is true that nobly and gallantly setting
aside all party differences, they came forward on that occa-
sion and lent the weight of their power and influence to
assist in carrying into effect a measure which they held to
be fraught with benefit to the country. But I will never
shelter myself under any flimsy pretext, or seek to diminish
any responsibility which I feel and know to be my own, by
dividing that responsibility with others.—(Hear, hear.)
Now, I will just observe before we approach this important
question, that we are sufficiently acquainted with the de-
vices of the party to whom we are opposed, not to believe
every thing told us—not to take every thing for granted,
particularly at the eve of a general election.—(Hear.)
There are particular moments when vegetation is very rapid.
There are times when the grass grows more freely than at
others, and no less sure it is, that as the grass grows in
spring, so in the approach of an election our political ad-
versaries will make assertions (I will not call them false-
hoods) for no doubt their words are sacred—(Cheers and
laughter)—perhaps they are facts, for fancy sometimes
creates such facts and embellishes them afterwards ; but be
that as it may, it is obvious that we are not always to take
all that they say for granted. Is there any one among you
who has thought for a moment upon the old Poor•law sys-
tem, that does not think that that system required altera-
tion and reform ? Is there any one among you who has
reflected upon the effects of the old law, the plan of dimi-
nishing the real amount of wages of the labouring poor, and
making that charitable contribution subservient to the en-
couragement of idleness and vice, rewarding those that are
least deserving, and oppressing those who have most right
to be encouraged—is there any one, I ask, who has thought
on this subject, and will not say that some extensive altera-
tion was not necessary ?—(Cries of" No.") I believe that
it is folly to ask the people of England whether this was not
the case, but then say you it does not necessarily follow
that, because the old system was a bad one that yours must
be a good one.—( Hear.) Nevertheless, you will admit
that it was necessary to make some great experiment in the
way of improvement. To those acquainted with the state
of Sussex and Buckinghamshire, where nearly the whole
wages of the labourer were paid out of the poor rate—and
in other parts ; in parishes in the midland counties, where
the whole of the labourers were literally paupers upon the
parish pay, and reduced to the lowest state of degradation
by this horrible practice, it must have been quite clear that
for the sake of the character of the people themselves, if
only to redeem them, some new sysfeni was required. Un-
doubtedly we have made a great experiment. Far be it
from me to say—and I could not say it of any human work
—that so great an alteration could ever be carried into ef-
fect, without pressure or inconvenience, without liability to
some mistake in the enactments of the law itself, or pos-
sibly some mistake in its administration ; if there be such
mistakes in the law, let them be amended—if there be
abuses in its administration, let them be corrected ; for the
amp
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suffered p rove this and every law
which may press with severity upon any class of the
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not to he trifled with or departed from ; though I do think
its administration ought to be carefully watched, and all just
causes of complaint should be quickly removed.—( Hear,
hear.) But how great are the misrepresentutions of our
opponents. First it is stated that under no circumstances,
I!".ever old and necessitous the party may be, can any re-
lief he given except in the workhouse. Such are not the
provisions of the Poor Law—(Cheers)—though this prin-
ciple may be adopted in some cases in its enforcement, and
I am told that there have been here some instances of this
kind. Indeed, a very contrary provision is to be found in
the clauses of the new system. The second cause of com-
plaint is the separation of husband and wife, and parents
from children.—(A voice, " Shame, shame.") I, too,
should feel this a grievance. I know that I should feel it
t° be so myself—(Renewed cheering)—but I tell you,
Gentlemen, again, this is not a principle contained in the
Poor Law. It is a principle in its administration—and
if this principle has been misapplied, in any case, so as
to cause unnecessary suffering, this is a proper
subject of inquiry—(Cheers)—and may be considered
again in the course of the next session ; and so if there
be any other part of the measure that may require altera-
tion, a remedy will, I trust, be found, that will be satisfac-
tory to the poor and to the country at large.—(Cheers.)
There is, however, another part of the Bill to which I
must allude, and against which very strong objections have
been raised. I mean the clause respecting illegitimate
children—(Hear)—to this principle I strongly adhere. Is
it a principle with you—is it a general desire throughout
the country to improve the moral condition of the poorer
class, and elevate them to the same degree of pure and vir-
I tuns feeling which society enforces in the upper walks of

life ?---(Yes.) You agree with me—then ask yourselves
whether the old system of orders of affiliation--of perju-
ries—conspiracies and forced marriages, have not a direct
tendency to destroy female chastity, and to lessen the hopes
of domestic happiness? I now pass on to the second point
of general political interest to which I have adverted—l
mean the Ballot. Gentlemen, I hope I need not tell you
that if there be any man more desirous than another to
preserve—more interested in protecting the freedom of
election in the town of Cambridge, it is the individual now
before you.—(Cheers.) Assuming this to be the filet, is it
not for my political interest that the ballot should be intro-
duced? With me, then, every personal motive must be
enlisted in favour of the principle of the ballot. If it be
true, then, that my political interest is ins olved in the ballot,
and if, as you assert, I could best attain my own objects, by
its introduction, and yet that I oppose it, you will at least
acquit me of any selfish personal motive in the course which
I have taken—you will do more, you must feel assured that
when I dissent from you on this point, I act against what to
you appears, my own interest, and that I can only do so
from a conviction that I am acting coraformably to my sense
of duty in subjecting myself to great difficulty by exposing
myself to much of jealousy on your part. But it is not on
personal or local considerations that this question turns ; it
must be viewed in relation to interests more general and
more enduring. The point on which a decision is to be
formed, is whether the ballot is the best and safest mode of
securing to you the free exercise of your franchise. I
admit that it would be an act of wisdom and of beneficence
to all parties to devise a protection for those who vote at
the probable risk of entailing ruin upon themselves and
families. But until lam persuaded that the ballot is the
best and safest remedy, I cannot consistently give it my
support. I cannot support it so long as I apprehend that
its tendency is to introduce evils of still greater magnitude
than those which it proposes to mitigate or to avert.—
(Hear, hear.) In countries where the ballot has been re-
sorted to, intimidation has been used, bribery has prevailed,
and I believe that under the ballot the character of our
electors in this country would be entirely and mis-
chievously altered. The most essential interests would
be endangered, if the community at large had not the
power of knowing how their trustees, the electors, acted ;
and upon the latter, if secrecy could be maintained, public
opinion would cease to exercise its most beneficial influ-
ences. Suppose we had the ballot now, what would become
of an assembly like the present ? This is a meeting of the
Reform Association ; but all that seek protection by secrecy
would fear to expose himself by his attendance here. One
cheer, one hurrah, would draw down upon himself the dis-
pleasure of his landlord, or render himself obnoxious to his
employer. Here the ballot would give him no protection.
He must therefore abstain from all such professions of poli-
tical faith. He dare not follow a candidate's procession ; he
dare not wear the colours of his party ; be must abstain from
all manifestations of sympathy or feeling, for if he does not
the vote by ballot will be to him but a delusion. Whe-
ther in or out of Parliament, you may, however, rely on
my best efforts to secure the freedom of election—to pro-
tect the voters no less from bribery titan from intimidation.
Before I sit down, there are two very important political
questions to which I feel it necessary to advert, because
on those questions I desire to be perfectly understood.
The one great question of a Church Establishment, the
other the question of the constitution of the House of Lords.
Gentlemen, no man has with more consistency and ear-
nestness supported the cause of the Protestant Dissen-
ters than I have done. I have at all times voted for the
removal of their practical grievances—for tLe repeal of the
Test and Corporation Acts ; for the registration of births ;
for an improved law of marriage ; and finally, for the ad-
justment of Church-rates. In this course I am ready to
persevere, considering that the Dissenters should be granted
a full and perfect equality in civil rights, and being con-
vinced that justice to the Dissenters is safety to the
Church. But beyond this I never can—never will go.
Educated in the principles of that Church, attached to
that Church after inquiry and on conviction, I never will
make or acquiesce in any concession dangerous to the in-
terests or the stability of the EstaLlishment.—(Cheers.)
I therefore have been, am, and feel convinced that I shall
continue strenuously opposed to what is called the Volun-
tary Principle. The second question on which I desire to
give a reply is that which is called the Reform of the House
of Peers ; to that, likewise, I am strongly opposed. Un-
doubtedly, I must admit that her Majesty's Government,
and I might add the Commons of tire country, have h2en
deeply mortified at the manner in which some of our Bills
have been mutilated, and others have been.rejected. This has
been to us a source of deep and bitter disappointment. But
I am not on this account disposed to abandon the ancient
Constitution of England. I will not reject or overthrow
one of the three co-ordinate branches of the Legislature.
On these grounds, to the proposition for altering, or, as it is
termed, reforming the House of Lords, I have ever been
ready to offer the most determined opposition. The Right
Hon. Gentleman then sat down amidst loud and general
cheering.
Mr. Pee-me then presented himself, and was greeted
' with immense cheering. He had now come forward to
give a short account of his Parliamentary- conduct. He
had supported the Administration of. the Whig Govern-
ment. He entered into interesting statemems conccrniag
the working of the New Poor-law, of which he was a sup-
porter, though he wished to remove many hardships. The
next subject to which he would allude was the ballot.—
(Great cheering.) The ba'lot had been brought forward
five successive times in the five successive sessions he had
been a Member of the House ; four times he had voted
against the measure , but the last time he had voted in
favour of it.—(Loud cheers.) He found that, instead of
a decrease, there was an evident increase of influence and
oppression since the Reform Bill, however excellent that
measure might be in other respects. This was one of the
questions upon which he differed with his Hon. Colleague;
but on most other points of general policy, nineteen times
out of twenty, they fully agreed.—(A cry of " University
Reform.") He supported University Reform. The Hon.
and Learned Gentleman sat down amidst great cheering
and waving of hats.
After the Hon. Members had retired, most of the com-
pany remained, and the evening was spent in the greatest
harmony.

PREPARATIONS for the GENERAL

ELIZCTION.

BRDSTOL.-Electioneering matters are going on in this city
as well as the most sanguine Liberals can desire. One vejy
extensive class of freemen have, we understand, resisted every
importunity to go the whole hog for the blues ; they tell the
Tory canvassers boldly " that, if they arc not content with
one vote, they shall have none." We are satisfied that they
will be sooner or later convinced that it is by the Tories they
have been oppressed—by the Tories they have been robbed,
and their privileges trampled on.—Bristol Gazette.
lIRREFORD.-In Hereford, we are glad to learn that the
cause of Reform, which is the cause of Messrs Clive and
Biddulph, is strenghening daily, and we have not any doubt
of their re-election. The best feeling prevails among the
Reformers, and they arc all pulling well together—Hereford
Times.

In Herefordshire, the Conservatives arc as quiet as church
mice. It is now evident that the Conservatives are better
able to eat a good dinner_witness their doings in this way
in our Shire Hall last autumn—than in proving a re-action—
witness their quietude throughout the county at the present
moment. The fact is, the cause of Reform is stronger than
ever ; of this fact, the Tories are well aware.—lbid.

For Presteign, &c., Mr. Price will be re-elected without
opposition.
MONMOUTH, &c.—The friends of Mr. Blewitt, the Reform
candidate, aro sanguine of success.
LepLow.—lt is all but certain that Colonel Salwcy will re-
introduce Mr. Charlton to private life.
LEOMINSTER.—Party feeling runs high, and notwithstanding
the means used by the Tories, such is the determined energy
of the Whigs, that Mr. Greenaway, the Liberal candidate, is
sure of success, and will be at the head of the poll.
A GooD EXAMPLE.-If rumour errs not, the Lady Lucy
Foley, of Abermarlais, is about to set a truly patriotic example
to the landed gentry of this county. It is said that her Lady-
ship will bear all expenses attendant on bringing to the poll all
those of her tenantry who are electors, and who will " plump"
for Sir James Williams. Which of them will not?—Carmar-
then 'Welshman.

-SOUTH DEVON.—The Telegraph says that Mr. Milted, who
represented the division in the first Reformed Parliament, the
son-in-law of Earl Grey, and a firm and uncompromising
Reformer, will be supported by the whole strength of the Libe-
ral interest in the division.
DRVONPORT.—Mr. Gambier has withdrawn all pretensions
to represent this borough, and there being no one else in the
field, our present Members are likely to walk over the course.
Efforts have been made to induce Jonathan Ramsay, Esq., of
Penlee Villa, to come forward under the auspices of the Con-
servative Association, and yesterday the walls of the borough
were placarded with " feelers," but no public movement has
taken place.—Devonport Telegraph.
BUCKINGHAM.—The candidates for the county are the two
sitting Members, the Marquis of Chandos, G. S. Harcourt,
and the Tory aspirant, Mr. Young. For the borough no new
candidate has appeared.
NORTH DERBYSHIRE. We Assure Mr. Gisbourne that there is
but'one feeling of regret at the separation about to tales place
between us ; that his services are held in grateful remembrance
by every elector in the county whose good opinion is worth
having. That Mr. Evans ought to be Mr. Gisbourne's suc-
cessor we have no more doubt than of our own existence—
that he will be, scarcely less.—North Devon Chronicle.
SOUTH SH IRLDS. —Both Mr. Ingham and Mr. Palmer have
canvassed the borough of South Shields, and from the apathy
displayed by the electors, it seems that they care little whe-
ther the tried Tory or the Tory in embryo be the successful
candidate ; no person more Liberal having offered himself.
It is the intention of forty or fifty of the thorough-going
Reformers headed by Mr. Rennison, one of the oldest and most
consistent Reformers in the borough of Tynemouth, to hold
back until the last hour ; and as may then be best to offer their
votes to that candidate who will pledge himself to the most
Liberal measures.—Sunderland Herald.
ISLE OF WIGHT.—The Hampshire Advertiser, a Tory