The Sun.
London, England, 1806-06-04 00:00:00

Tolhe INDEPENDENT ELECTORS of HONITON.

GENT L EM EN, •
1 ERCEIVING that Plr. Cavendish Bradshaw -
has, since by your voice he was constituted one of the
Guardians of the Public Purse, taken care to obtain a place
by. the means of which he will drain, into his own pocket
write thousands a-year out of that purse, and this, too, at a
time when the load of indispensible Taxes is pressing his ho-
nest and industrious Constituents to the earth ; perceiving
this, and being fully persuaded that whenever the Lledors of
any place re-choose Representatives under similar circum-
stances, the cause is not so much in their own disposition as
inthe.apathy and luke-Avarnaness of those independent men
who inay.have the ability to rescue them from such hands ;
with this truth being deeply impressed, I did, upon. hearing
of the approaching Vacan6y,. use my ellOrts to prevail upon
other men of, this description to afford you an opportunity.
of evincing your good sense and. uprightness, and, hav-
ing failed in those efforts, 1 have thought it my duty to af-
ford you this opportunity myself;. it being manifestly true,
that,. unless men of independence and of public spirit will
offer themselves as Candidates, to. rail at Eledors for choos-
ing and re-choosing the dependent and the mercenary, is, in
the, highest degree, unreasonable and unjust. -
As to professions, Gentlemen; so many and so loud, upon
such occasions, have they been; so numerous we the in-
' stances in which tlio-.4:.ulness and shamelessness of the
apostacy have borne an exact proportion to the purity and
solemnity of mite vow; so completely, and with-such fatal
effect, have the grounds of confidence been destroyed,. that
it is now become necessary, upon all' occasions -like the
present, to give a pledge such as every man can clearly un-
derstand, and such as it is impossible to violate without ex-
posing the violator to detedion,, and to all the consequences
of 'detected hypocrisy and falsehood ; and such a pledge
1 now give in declaring, that, whether yob cleat me or riot,
I never, as long as I live, either for myself, or for, or through
the means ot, any of my _family, will receive, under any name,
whether of salary, pension, or other, either directly or indired-
ly, one single farthing of the Public Money ; but, without
I emolument, compensation,, or reward of any kind or in
any shape, will, to the utmost of my ability, watch over and
defend the Property, the Liberties, and the Privileges of the
People, never therefrom separating, as I never yet haVe,
the just and Constitutional Rights and Prerogatives of the
Crown.
This declaration, Gentlemen, is not made witheolit due re-
fledion as to the future, as well as to the present, as to pub-
lic men in general as well as to myself. It proceeds, first,
front an opinion that the'Representatives of the People ought
• never to be exposed to the temptation of betraying their- trust.
' idly, from long observation, that those who live upon the
Public are amongst the most miserable of men ; and, thirdly,
from that experience in the various walks of life, which has
convinced me of the wisdom of Hagar, who prayed for neithet
riches. nor poverty ; not riches, lest he should forget God ;
not poverty, lest he should be tempted to steal ; and, to re.
ceive the public money unjustly, is not only stealing, but
stealing.of the worst and basest sort, including a breach of the
most sacred trust accompanied with the cowardly conscious-
Hess of iMpunity. reflettions like these, Gentlemen,
it is, that the declaration- now .made has. pro.eeded ; and,
when-I depart, in word or in deed, from this declaration, may
II become the scorn of my country. ; wherein, to 'be remem-
bered with esteem I prize beyond alf the riches and all the
hanonrsof this world. _ _ •
. .

But, Gentlemen, as it is my firm determination never to
receive afarthing of the Public. Money, so it is my deter..
mination, equally firm, never, in any way whatever, to give
one farthing of my own money to any man in order to in- '
duce him to vote; or to cause others to vote, fur me ; „and,
being convinced, that it is ,this practice of giving, or pro-
mising to give, money, or money's worth, at Elettionsi be-
ing convinced that it is this disgraceful, this unlawful, this
profligate, this impious practice to winch are to be ascribed
all our calamities, and all the. dangers ,that now stare us
in the tace, 1 cannot refrain from exhorting you to be,
against all attempts at such practices,constantly and watchful-
ly Upon your guard.. The Candidates who have resorted to such
means have always been found amongst the most wicked of
Inen-men who, having, by a life of adultery or of gambling,
or of profligacy of some other sort, ruined both, their charac-
ter and their fortunes,. have staked their last thousand upon
an EleCtion, with the hope, of thereby obtaining security
.from a Jail, and of selling their vote' for the Means of future
subsistencedrawn from the sweat of the People at a hundred
fold, and thus expecting to pocket the profit of the corrupt
speculation, sneering at their bribed an.i perjured Constitu-
ents, as Satan is said to• have sneered at the reprobate with
whom he had bargained for his soul.
,Far from you,
_Gentlemen, be credulity so foolish ! Far
frinn you, disgrace so deep; infamy so incredible ! Far from
you,. so flagrant a violation of the law, so -daring a defiance
of the justice and die power and the wrath of God ! But,
were it otherwise, and did 1 find in lionitou but as many.
righteous men as were found in Sodom and Gomorrah, 1.
would tender them my hand to lead theM fidur the -rest.
Very different, hirwever, are my hopes •, these hopes forbid
me to believe it possible that there should be, collected
upon one spot, four hundred Englishmen, having the eyes
of all England upon them, who will not, by their votes,
freely and cordially given,- sandion the great principle upon
which I now stand ; and, in these hopes, I will, if I have
life, do myself the *mom to meet you. on the -day of Elec-
tion. fn the mean while, 1 ant, with great reSpect,-Gen-
tlemen, your most humble and most obedient Servant
Batley, Southampton, . WM. COI3BETT.
Ist of lune, tBc6.