The Sun.
London, England, 1839-04-25 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL CONVENTION.
( YESTERDAY.)

In our P.,per of Monday we stated that Mr. Colitis
pres2ntcd 5/. from Chilton, it should have been Chel-

tenham.
0:1 the motion of Mr. DUNCAN, Mr. LowitY took
the chair.

Mr. LOVETT, the Secretary, having called over the
names, and read the minutes of yesterday's proceedings,
Mr. NEESOM stated that he was instructed by. Mr.
Williams, the Delegate for the county of Surrey and
Lambeth, to state his intention to waive his right to sit
in the Convention at present. An objection having
been taken to the manner in which the meeting had
been called, being for the purpose of electing a Delegate
for E ist Surrey, he thought -it was more desirable to
stand aloof from the Convention at present, leaving it
for the men of Surrey to determine whether he should
repre3ent them, or another election take place._
(Cheers.) lie had ni doubt that another election
would be the result. _ . _

Mr. MOORE thought the better courso would be for
Mr. Williams to announce his intention to resign, and
he believed it had been determined that the Convention
could not accept the resignation of any member, but that
lay between himself and his constituents.—(Cheers.)
lIR. RYDER'S RESIGNATION.

Mr. SANKEY coinciilecl with the last observation of
Mr. Moore, that the Convention could not accept the
resignation of any member, and acting upon that he
bc gged to state that with respect to Mr. Ryder, who had
resigned his seat yesterday, that he was willing to hold
his seat for the West Riding of Yorkshire as in the
course he adopted yesterday he had acted under an error.
Mr. MILLS thought the adoption of such a course
would hold up the Convention to ridicule. It was per-
fect boys' play.
Mr. RYDER staled that he was engaged yester-
day with one of his constituents, and was therefore
not in attendance when the Convention first sat : when
he entered he found the Convention objecting to the
election of Mr. Williams, and knowing the circum-
stances under which Mr. Williams had been elected, he
stated that if it was determined that Mr. Williams was
not the Member for Surrey, he was not the Member
for the West Riding of Yorkshire. Mr. O'Connor had
subsequently informed him th.tt the election of Mr.
Williams was not disputed ; but the only question was
whether he was the representative of Lambeth in con-
nection with Surrey.
Mr. CLEAVE concurred with Mr. Mills that, allow-
ing Mr. Ryder to take his seat again after the proceed-
ings of yesterday, would be placing the Convention in a
very invidious point of view, for it had already gone to
the world that Mr. Ryder had resigned his seat in the
Convention because he had no confidence in its
Members.

Mr. LOVETT thought the course pursued by Mr.
Ryder involved a principle of despotism which
ought not to submitted to by the Convention, for
according to it, the minority were to govern the majority.
Having resigned his seat yesterday, Mr. Ryder now
came forward and asked to be elected again, because
he had acted upon a wrong impression. He begged to
inform Mr. Ryder that the election of Mr. Williams
was disputed altogether, for by their Charter—
Mr. HARTWELL rose to order. They were not now
dscussing the propriety of Mr. Williams' election.
Mr. CARDo was surprised that this matter had been
introduced, as it had already been laid down that the
Convention had no power to receive a Delegate's re-
signation, the question being between himself and his
constituents.

Mr. NEESOM agreed with Mr. Cardo that they could
not accept the resignation of a Delegate. He, for one,
was glad to see Mr. Ryder back again at his post, and
he trusted he would do his duty manfully and fearlessly.
However much the Convention might lament it, he felt
convinced the country generally would be glad of the
return of Mr. Ryder to the Convention.
Mr. SKEV INGTON hoped what had taken place would
prove a lesson to all. Mr. Ryder had made a sweeping
charge of want of confidence in the Convention ; and yet
having that want of confidence, he had the inconsistency
to come forward and take part in these deliberations.—
(Cheers.) He therefore must ❑ecessarily include him-
self in that want of confidence.

Mr. DUNCAN thought that Mr. Ryder ought to apo-
logise to the Convention for the language he had used.
Dr. FLETCHEIt thought that Mr. Ryder had placed
himself in a most humiliating situation. If the Con-
reution was not worthy of confidence, it was highly dis-
graceful to him to wish to join them again. If the Con-
vention was worthy of confidence, then Mr. Ryder bad
endeavoured to fasten a foul calumny upon its Members.

Mr. RYDER did not wish to be misunderstood ; and
such being the case, he would again state that the rea-
son why he had tendered his resignation was in conse-
quence of being misinformed. He bad been told when
he retired yesterday that the Convention was objecting
to the election of Mr. Williams, and, feeling that elec-
tion was a valid one, he at once stated that-if Mr. Wil-
liams was not permitted to take his scat he would not sit
for the West Riding. With regard to what he had stated '
that he had no confidence in the Convention—he would
again assert it, and he would even go further, for he
would state that it was his firm belief 'chat there were
only eight men of principle in the Convention.
Mr. MILLS was sorry to see the party feeling Coat
was pervading some parts of the Convention, because
he considered such feeling tended to lower the Conven-
tion in the eyes of the country.
Mr. DUNCAN thought Mr. Ryder ought to tell the
Convention who the eight men of prideiple in the Con-
vention were.—(Cheers.) lle must deprecate the
Convention being bearded by a small faction.
Mr. SANKEY telt sorry at the differences that had
taki:n place among the • members of the Convention.
The time now was but short, and he thought that time
should be spent in conciliation, and not in creating
differences.

Mr. LOVETT said that he would move, and be hoped
under the circumstances the motion would be agreed
to—" That the statement made by Mr. Ryder on his
resignation yesterday, that he had no confidence in the
Convention, and now to-day that he believes there are
only eight men of principle in it, proves him before his
constituents and the country to be a very vacillating and
inconsistent member thereof, to leave it yesterday with
contempt, and joint it to-day with insult."
Mr. DUNCAN seconded the motion.

Mr. SMART thought the course pursued by Mr. Ryder
an insult to the Convention. Mr. Ryder had not stated
who the eight men of principle in the Convention were,
but he supposed he (Mr. Smart) was not one of them.
—(Cheers.) He cordially supported the motion before
the Chair.

Mr. F. O'CoNson felt bound to move an amendment
to the motion of Mr. Lovett, and if his friend Mr. He-
tlivr'ngton wished for a precedent for his doing so, he
would instance one ia which he himself was interested,
and in which he was in one sense a sufferer. When he
was a Member of the Howe of Commons, upon one oc-
casion, when O'Connell was in an iil temper with that
House, he called them 638 pickpockets, and when he
was charged by Lord Sandon with having done so, he
stated that he could not have said 658, because if he
had, he should have included himself.—( Laughter.) So
with respect to the Members of the Convention. if any
Member had said that there was only cue honest man
in the Convention, he (Mr. O'Connor) would hate con
tented himself with supposing that he nas that man un,
til he bad been proved otherwi:e. And until he was
told to the contrary, he should suppose himself to be one
of the eight men of principle to whom Mr. Ryder had
adverted. He thought the Convention lost much time in
debating trivial matters and splitting hairs.—(Cheers.)
Since yesterday he had spoken to Mr. Ryder upon the
cause of his resignation ; and upon his informing him
of that cause, he stated that he had acted upon a wrong
supposition, and Mr. Ryder then said he would with-
draw his resignation.—(Cheers.) For his own part, he
thought the resignation of Mr. Ryder would do great
mischief.—(Cheers.) Ile was a most fit and proper
person to be a Member of the Convention.—(Hear,
hear.) He was no sun-flower :he had been returned
by a great constituency and at a great meeting, and such
being the case, Mr. Ryder had no right to resign unless
he could show good cause fur doing so : no such cause
could b.: shown, and he could not therefore see
ally Mr. Ryder should be compelled to abide by
his hasty determination of yesterday.—( Hear, hear.)
He could not but deprecate these species of dis-
cussion, for his opinion was, considering, the short
time that was now allowed them, it ought to be em-
ployed in diminishing breaches and not increasing them.
With respect to the Convention generally, he begged to
say, if he was asked to-morrow to point out any individual
in the Convention whom he wished to resign, that he
could not place his finger on the name of a single per-
son.—(Cheers.) In conclusion, he begged to move as
an amendment—" That the Convention does not consi-
der it discreet, at the present moment, to entertain the
proposition further."—(Cheers.)
Mr. SANKEY seconded the amendment.