The Sun.
London, England, 1837-08-04 00:00:00

NORTH WILTS NOMINATION

DEVIZES, THURSDAY.—The nomination of the candi-
dates for the representation of this division of the county
took place this morning. The town was in a high state of
excitement, and in the anticipation of riot every shop-win-
dow was closed. The hands of the contending parties pa-
raded the streets from an early hour, and there was scarcely
a house from which the rival colours were not displayed.
The friends of the sel oral candidates formed themselves
into separate processions at short distances removed from
the town ; and as they approached the hustings, bearing
with them the banners of their party, they presented a very
imposing spectacle. Mr. Methuen's friends arrived first—
many in carriages, many in waggons—but by far the greater
riumber on horseback. The cavalcade appeared to be end-
less, but was not more distinguished by its length and the
gaiety of its banners, than by the respectable and substantial
ae,pearance of the sturdy yeomen of whom it was chiefly_coin-
posed. Mr. Long and his supporters next entered upon the
scene. They advanced in the same manner, and presented
much the same appearance as the friends of
Mr. Methuen.
The supporters of Sir Francis Burdett, coming late into the
field, found it occupied by the friends of the other parties.
A struggle immediately commenced for the possession of
the space in front of the hustings, and in a few minutes it
assumed all the character of a desperate riot. The friends
of Messrs. Methuen and Long, who arrived first, had dis-
mounted, and assembled in a dense mass before the hust-
ings. This solid body was charged by the Burdett horse
in a most unmanly and savage manner. The mounted
cavaliers were armed with stout sticks, and, without an
sort of provocation, they began to hit away right and left,
and to spur their horses forward until they had gained pos-
session of all the spacein front of the hustings, driving the
discomfited foot entirely off the field. But this triumph
was of short duration. In a few moments the routed foot
returned, and commenced an assault with mud and stones,
which quickly compelled the horsemen to retire, many with
very severe wounds on the head and face. The Burdett
tanners were captured and destroyed, and the poles which
supported them converted into weapons of defence against
the assaults of the horse. The latter having been com-
pletely driven from the field, comparative order was re-
stored, and the business of the day commenced.
Mr. Long and Sir Francis Burdett took their appointed
places upon the hustings. Mr. Methuen was represented
on the occasion by Mr. Mildmay, M.P., being himself
unable to attend in consequence of the recent loss of his
only son.

The usual forms having been completed,
Sir F. BATHURST, the High Sheriff of the county, shortly
addressed the electors. They were assembled to exercise
the highest privilege of Englishmen, to elect tit and proper
persons to represent them in Parliament. He hoped that
the proceedings of the day would be conducted with the
good humour characteristic of Englishmen—(Cheers)—
that they would give to every gentleman who wished to
address them, a fair and patient hearing ; and that they
would avoid everything that might tend to violence or dis-
turbance.—(Cheers.) If they did not do this, he assured
them that he should exercise the power given to him by a
recent act of Parliament, and adjourn the meeting to some
future day.—(Cheers.) He relied, however, upon their
good sense for their good conduct.—(Cheers.)
Major OLIVIER then came forward to propose Walter
Long, Esq , as a fit and proper person to represent this
county in Parliament. Mr. Long was no stranger to them '
(C---he was born amongst them—he lived amongst them.—
heers.) The high situation which he again aspired to
(Cfin, had been filled by his forefathers long before him.—
heers.) Mr. Long was no party man—he was attached
to no party ; but he would do his duty
honestly and con-
(Mscientiously in that House of Parliament to which he
ajor Olivier) hoped and believed :they would shortly re-
turn him.—(Great cheering.)
MMr. PIIILLIps, of Melksham, seconded the nomination.
r. Long did not come before the constituency as a new
and untried man. His public acts were before them, and
it was upon those acts that he relied for support in the
Present election.—(Cheers.) The question to be deter-
mined by the electors was, whether they would return
one who lived amongst them, or whether they would have
a Stranger ?
[Here the battle between the adherents of the rival par-
ties was renewed in a fiercer and more determined manner
than before. The supporters of Sir Francis Burdett had
dismounted, and, gaining wisdom from their previous defeat,
commenced an attack with stones. This was replied to by
he other party with simile and for lona- time
the fight Was doubtful. Butr missiles, and
the B.urdett'party,
whose ammunition ap e
rush, which drove thefir to be inexhaustible, made a
A comparative degree o;)PP
are(onents completely off the field.
business proceeded, althouogrldietrh:as then
restored, and the
urged to adjourn.] High Sheriff was strongly
Mr. G. W. HENEAGE proposed Sir Francis Burdett ;
but
the greater part of his observations were totally inaudi-
-01 After adverting to Mr. Me 1 uer,'s retirement and
unexplained re-appearance in the field,i he said that the elec-
tors of North Wilts had called upon Sir Francis Burdett as
lin independent candidate, and as an independent candidate
they would sup
those port him. He was happy to see amongst
present so many who he recognised as having re-
cently fought the good fightm at Crieklade. The blue flag
Was victorious there--so it would also be for the Northern
division of the county. He saw from the strong expression
of feeling which they had that day manifested, that they
would do every thing in their power to place Sir F. Burdett
where he ought to be placed, at the head of the poll.
Mr. LUDLOW BRUGES seconded the nomination. He
did so with the greatest pleasure, because he believed that
there was no man in the kingdom more determined to sup-
polt the Constitution of the country, and all those rights and
institutions which Englishmen held dear, than Sir Francis
burdett.—(Cheers.) It was unnecessary that he should
detain the meeting by entering into a detail of the
various qualifications of Sir Francis Burdett as the repre-
scntative of a large and independent body of men. They
would find him independent in mind—determined to repre-
Sent not one section of the country, but all parties ; ready
to support good measures, from whatever quarter they
might come, and resolute to resist bad ones, however they
flight be recommended.—(Cheers.) They would never
ace in him a man who would adopt a factious opposition to
one administration, or he guilty of a servile adherence to
another.—(Cheers.) In private life no one entertained a
higher respect for Mr. Methuen than he
(Mr. Bruges) did,
buttO there were times when private feelings must give way
Public duties. It was due to the electors that Mr.
Methuen should explain the circumstances under which he
44.„it.1 appeared in the field after a formal retirement.
M. PHIPPS proposed tb Mr . iconMehuen, whosepolitical son-
hents were well known to •the stituency.po He called
en the electors to support that Government in which
MethQueen placed implicit confidence, by restoring Mr.
able uea to that high situation which he had an honour-
typtibition to fill.--(Cheers, and cries of " We will.")
Li
to ,Lu°ine,- so they would be doing their duty to the Queen,
re country, and to thernselves.—(Great cheering.)
jtethTHOMAS SAUNDERS seconded the nomination. Mr.
uen had only been induced tO come forward again by
"e earnest entreaties of many thousands of the electors,
Vho exclaimed "We cannot lose you, Mr. Methuen, you
Must
sin go into Parliament again." By God's blessing, he
cerely trusted that Mr. Methuen would again go into
Parliament. He was one who had never changed from
the time that he first went into Parliament until the pre-
sent moment. He had never turned his coat.—(Cheers.)
lie did not take it off one way and put it on another.—
(Great cheering.) He had never been defeated, and as
long as he stood for North Wilts he wassure he never would.
Mr. LONG then presented himself, and was terry warmly
received by his friends. He said that the very enthusiastic
manner in which he had been received, as well on entering
the town as then upon the hustings, could not fail of being
exceedingly flattering to him. He trusted it was an earnest
orb. support he should receive as a candidate for their
Suffrages.--(Cheers.) Notwithstanding the many and re-
peated contradictions which he had caused to be made of
the existence of coalitions between himself and other can-
didates, he found that reports to his prejudice still existed
Upon that point. He begged, therefore, to state distinctly
tlabefore the assembled electors of North Wilts, that he stood
.I"e—(Cheers)—that he had never entered into a coali-
ts'eoen with either of the other candidates, nor come to any
ret understandinc, with them.—(Cheers.) It was well
known that at tfielast election he was called upon by a
teequisition most numerously signed from all parts of the
konenty to stand forward as a candidate, and it was also well
„ ewn that he had been unanimously chosen as one of
ttrepresentatives of that extensive division of Wiltshire.
lbe trust then confided to him was now returned into
he hands of the electors. Whilst he held it he hoped
performed his duty to the satisfaction of his con-
t f, and and of the country at large.—(Cheers.) It
or them to say whether they thought him worthy to
rcte,e've again at their hands so distinguished a mark of their
(cheers (Cheers.) His principles remained unchanged.—
had eers.) He had always taken an independent line. He
fit
s° sported the present Government whenever lie thought
, ° do, and had withheld that support from them when-
er could not give it conscientiously.—(Cheers.) He
th, u not better define what his political sentiments were
I,44dilbbY quoting a passage from a celebrated letter which
and
,eie.",very generally circulated throughout the country,
,iectlo‘r!tewni.he thought must express the feelings of every
111
auether Conservative or Whig :—" I wish to rally
the existinP and
of the British people as possible around
co:111110ns g institutions of the country—the Throne, Lords,
hike new ,at.id the Established Church. I do not wish to
01(1.ilentstitutions, but to preserve and strengthen
ponents. in lies the difference between me and my
iestitution °aie would confine the advantages of those
voi open to all
•t° as s mall a class
th as possible ; I would throw
who had e ability to comprehend

-
-

them, and the vigour to protect them. Otliers, again,
would annihilate them for the purpose of forming new
ones on fanciful and untried principles. I would, I re-
peat, preserve them, but increase their efficiency, and
add to the number of their supporters." Those were
his opinions. They were opinions which must be enter-
tained by every honest man—they were opinions which
strictly accorded with the sound principles of the Constitu-
tion.—(Cheers.) 'As he had stated to the electors in his
address, he had no object to gain by a seat in Parliament.
He had no personal ambition to gratify—he wished merely
to do his duty faithfully and conscientiously.—(Cheers.)
He had not made the same exertions—he had not gone to
the same expense—as the other candidates. He threw him-
self upon the electors of the county at large, feeling confi-
dent that they would bear him through the contest in
triumph.—(Great cheering, and cries of "We will.") He
would only add, that if it were their pleasure to return him
again to Parliament, he would perform his duty, as hereto-
fore, fearlessly and conscientiously.—(Great cheering.)
Sir FRANCIS BURDETT next came forward, amidst the
cheers of his own party and the groans of his opponents.
He stood before them in the honourable situation of' a can-
didate for their suffrages ; not from any act of his own—
(Cheers)—not from seeking that situation--still less from
obtruding upon the county whilst it was understood it had
its Members. He was brought before them by Mr. Methuen
himself, who, after having been so long and so nobly sup-
ported by the electors of North Wilts, not long since most
mischieviously and perniciously, as he (Sir Francis) thought,
without reason assigned, deserted the high situation they had
conferred on him, and completely abandoned his post. Now,
however, again, without assigning a reason for his conduct,
Mr. Methuen re-entered the field, and determined to fight
a battle for the very post he had relinquished.—(Cheers.)
Receiving, as he (Sir Francis Burdett) had done, so large
a requisition (larger, perhaps, than any ever before pre-
sented to an individual, for it was signed by nearly 1,000
electors), he felt bound in that crisis of the country, know-
ing that many of our best institutions were at stake, to
reply to that requisition, and he did so accordingly ;
therein stating his ready acquiescence, nay, his joyful
acceptance of the invitation given to him by the electors
of the county to maintain their interests and the interests
of the county at large in that hour of difficulty and danger.
—(Cheers.) , Elected by them, it would be his care in
Parliament to uphold the independence of the county, and,
above all, to watch over and preserve the great interests
of the laws, the liberties, the constitution, and the reli-
gicus establishment of the country.—(Cheers.) He should
have be en ashamed had he been the representative of even
the meanest and most inconsiderable borough in the king-
dom, to have quitted it with so little ceremony as Mr.
Methuen had quitted the important county of Wilts, with-
out making the slightest arrangement as to the feelings,
wishes, or future views of his constituents.—(Cheers from
the Burdett party.) A proud king of the Jews said, " Moab
is my washpot—over Edom I cast my shoe." He knew not
whether the electors were contented to be treated like Edom.
—(Laughter and cheers.) He knew not whether Corshatn
might be Mr. Methuen's washpot, but of this he is as quite
sure—that Mr. Methuen would not make North Wilts his
Edom.—(Cheers and laughter.) He understood that there
was a Cabinet Minister upon the hustings (Sir John Cam
Hobhouse, who came with Mr. Methuen's friends). He
understood that Sir John Cam Hobhouse was there.—
(Cheers and groans.) He supposed that the Hon. Baro-
net came for the purpose of explaining the very extraordi-
nary and suspicious and very unsatisfactory conduct of Mr.
Methuen towards the county.—(cheers.) But as it was
impossible at a meeting of that description to enter into any
argument with one's opponents, from the simple circum-
stance that it was quite impossible to hear a word they said,
he might perhaps take for granted that which ought to be
done—that which was due to the electors of the county—.
and conclude that the Hon. Baronet's object in being pre-
sent was to explain the conduct of his friend Mr. Methuen.
The gentleman who had done him (Sir F. Burdett) the
honour to second his nomination had made use of an obser-
vation which was unquestionably true, that England now
stood in a position between her foes and her friends--not
foreign foes whom she can laugh at and despise—but do-
mestic foes, whose exertions against her best interests were
unwearied and unceasing.—(Cheers.) She had now to de-
fend herself against Irish priests—(Groans and hisses)—
against the bigoted, ignorant, and insane Irish Papists,
guided and governed by the great hired agitator of Ireland,
Mr. Daniel O'Connell.—(Groans and hisses,) lie objected
to the return of Members who were sent into Parliament, to
support an administration which was not ashamed to depend
for its existence upon the aid of Mr. Daniel O'Connell.--
(Cheers, and cries of " No Popery !" from the Burdett
party.) He would not raise a cry against any man's reli-
gion. There were, no doubt, honest men of all religions,
but he liked the Church of England, which he looked upon
—[At this moment a part of the hustings, at which Sir
Francis and his friends were standing, gave way with a
loud crash, but fortunately no serious accident occurred.
Sir Francis, who was thrown on his side, was speedily,
raised by those about him, and as soon as order was re-
stored he continued his address.] The slight accident
which had just happened would never, he hoped, befal the
Constitution, whilst it did not, he little cared what accident
happened to himself. He was going to say, that he
stood there by the invitation of 1,000 of the independent
electors of North Wilts ; be might say the most independ-
ent portion of the constituency.—(Cheers.) He regretted
to find that the administration left no power, no influence,
that they could exercise unemployed in interfering with the
freedom of election, that sacred and vital principle of Eng-
lish liberty.—(Cheers.) He for one could not support those
whose existence depended upon the unnatural coalition
he had described.—(Cheers.) Unnatural and despicable as
that coalition was, it was the only prop which kept the
present administration in power. Yet they had the face to
say that they were for the Queen—(Cheers and groans
from the Burdett party)—and that those who opposed the
present Ministry were hostile to the Queen.—(" Sa you
are !" and cheers.) Why, every body knew that it was
the merest accident upon earth that the present Adminis-
tration happened to be in office when the young Queen
ascended the throne. But for the death of our late la-
mented and patriotic King there was every reason to be-
lieve that the Ministry would not have existed for a fort-
night longer.—(Cheers from Burdett's party.) They had
failed in all their great attempts at legislation : they were
utterly incapable of carrying into execution their own views
and wishes. As a Ministry entrusted with the government
of affairs they were powerless. He observed, on looking
over the newspapers published at Edinburgh, that the At-
torney-General and the Speaker of the late House of
Commons, being before a large body of their constituents,
hardly knew what to lay claim to as a ground for public
support.—(Cheers from the Burdett party.) The Attor-
ney-General confessed that he was quite surprised that his
friend the Speaker could possibly find materials to make a
speech to the Queen on the prorogation of Parliament.—
(Cheers and laughter.) In point of fact the whole of the
last Session had been wasted in doing nothing. He begged
leave to say, that he and those with whom he thought and
acted supported the Constitution of England—(Cheers)—
that they supported the true interests of this great Protestant
State, and that they were not supported by Mr. Daniel
O'Connell, or by any of the declared foes of the Eng-
lish Constitution—those misled, misguided, and shallow-
minded men who would subvert the great aegis of civiliza-
tion under which they lived—(Cheers)—and adopt mea-
sures that would tend to the destruction of an established
Church more liberal and enlightened than any that existed
in the world.—(Cheers.) For his own part he believed
that if that Church were to fall, religious freedom would
fall with it.—(Cheers.) He was attached, and he believed
the greater portion of those whom he was then address-
ing, were attached sincerely and devotedly to the British
Constitution in all its parts, from the Commons to the
Crown. Whether the Crown were worn sby a revered
and patriotic King, or by an amiable and youthful Queen,
it was the duty of every true Englishman to support and
maintain it ; for upon the independent existence of the
Crown as well as of the aristocracy, depended the liberties
of the people.—(Cheers.) He believed, therefore, that
the electors of North Wilts would make such an exposi-
tion of their feelings on the occasion of the present elec-
tion as would tend to give stability to the Church, security
to the throne, and liberty to the people.--(Cheers.) In
opposing the Ministry, he maintained that he supported the
Queen.—(Cheers.) It was nonsense to talk of the
Queen's choice of Ministers ; those who thought with
him were anxious to place the Queen in a situation in
which she might really be able to make a choice.—
(Loud cheers from the Burdett party.) They did not
like that the Queen should be taken possession of, and be
made the property of a paltry party, who reduced her to
the situation of Queen of a miserable rump of a Whig
faction. (Cheers and hisses.) The present Administration
resembled in some respects the statue raised by Nebuchad-
nezzar—its legs were of clay, but, unlike the statue, the
head of the Administration was not a head of gold.—
(Cheers and laughter.) All whom he addressed knew well
what his principles were. He had, in fact, nothing to say
to them. He was the same man that he had ever been.—
(Cheers and hisses, and cries of " Who turned his coat ?")
He was for England—Protestant England, and the great
Protestant institutions of the United Kingdom.—(Cheers.)
He was not for separating Ireland and England, still less
for trampling upon and insulting
the Protestant inhabitants
of the former. He was for doing justice to all—justice, as
Mr. Daniel O'Connell said, to Ireland. He would do
more ; he would do justice in Ireland, and Mr: Daniel
O'Connell should be one of the first to feel the weight. of
justice himself.—(Cheers.) He would detain them no
longer ; it was unnecessary that he should do so. The
spirit that everywhere manifested itself threughou t the North
ern Division of the county, made bins feel that he should
become their representative.—(Cheering from the Burdett
party, responded to by cries of " Never l" from the friends

of the other candidates.) Proud of the honour thus con-
ferred upon him, he should continue to bear the same
motto that he had adopted forty years ago—" The Con-
stitution, the whole Constitution, and nothing but the
Constitution."--(Cheers.) With these observations he
would take his leave. He placed himself in their bands,
nothing doubting the result.—(Cheers.) He knew that
they would do honour to their country by supporting those
who would maintain its unrivalled institutions; and he
assured them, however gratifying it might be to him to be
the humble instrument in their hands of upholding those
institutions, all personal considerations were entirely sunk
in the great interest he took in securing to this great and
its religion, and its liberty.
Aolivr.ne Ad i
for Winchester, addressed the
renowned country its
m laws,.p.
electors on the part of Mr. Methuen. As the friend and
relative of that gentleman, he congratulated the electors on
the prospect of success which the appearance of that day
afforded. He had no doubt, when they came to the poll,
that Mr. Methuen would be found at the head of it.--
(Cheers.) He felt quite certain, from all he had heard,
and from all he knew of the people of North Wilts, that
they would never change an honest man for one who had
forsaken his principles.—(Great cheering.) He felt quite
certain that the people of North Wilts were too firm in
their reform principles and too shrewd to let a man sneak
in in the way Sir Francis Burdett was doing.—(Loud
cheers.) What were their recollections of Sir Francis
Burdett ? What were their recollections of him when in
former days he cheered them on in the pursuit of reform ?
And what did they see him now—a croaking partisan of
the dying Tory faction.—(Great cheering.) Was that the
man they would have to represent them ?—(Cries of
" No, no.") Was that the man they would have in
preference to their honest and old friend, who had
never asked a favour—who had always acted with the
most perfect independence—giving his vote on every
occasion in such a way as he conscientiously believed
would tend most to the interest, the welfare, and the
happiness of the nation.—(Loud cheers.) if they were
to prefer such a man, what a lesson would it be to the
rest of the country ! He had just returned from thresh-
ing a Tory i:t Winchester—(Cheering)—where the greatest
intimidation, the most abominable threats, and the gross-
est bribery were resorted to, but the Reformers were true
to their principles, and the Tory was defeated.--(Cheers.)
He doubted not that the same result would take place in
North Wilts. They were told that Sir Francis Burdett
was a friend of the Constitution. He wished somebody
would ask the Hon. Baronet what he meant by the Con-
stitution ?—(Cheers.) Did he mean the Constitution of
two years ago, or did he mean some Constitution that had
gained a place in his imagination ?—(Cheers.) Who were
the friends of the Constitution ? Those who based the
Constitution upon the affections of the people.—(Cheers.)
Sir Francis Burdett told them that he was friendly to the
Ls tablished Church, and that the supporters of the present
Ministry were not ; but who was most likely to be friendly
to the Church—the man who removed its abuses, or the
man who maintained them ?—(Cheers.) Mr. Methuen was
sincere in his religious feelings, but he was not one who.

to use the language of a great writer, would rush to the
door of heaven and close it against all the rest of man-
kind.—(Cheers.) Mr. Methuen would rather prefer to
widen the portal, to make it open to all, to make the
road smoother, and to remove every obstacle.—(Cheers.)
In former days he recollected a Sir Francis Burdett

who was the friend of the ballot, universal suffrage, and
annual Parliaments.—(Cheers.) Let any of the electors
ask the Hon. Baronet whether he was friendly to those
measures now.—(Groans and hissss.) In former days he
(Mr. Mildmay) looked with admiration upon the man—he
could only now behold him with feelings of compassion and
pity. Sir Francis Burdett found fault with Mr. Methuen,

and declared that he was not likely to serve "t1;-Consti

tuents so well as he (Sir Francis) should do. But he (Mr.
111i!drnay) defied any mean present to stand up and say that

any one act of Mr. 11-lethuen's, as the Representative of the
county, had not been in accordance with the feelings and
wishes of his constituents.—(Cheers.) He would not
allude to the conduct of the other party, who had that day
hired a body of ragged dirty men to drive the supporters of
the Liberal party from the hustings. Every one must be
sufficiently disgusted with a proceeding which only furnished
another example of bow the Tory party would trample
upon the people if they could only obtain the power—
(Cheers)—and yet these were the men who pretended to
give a Liberal Representative to North Wilts.—(Laughter
and cheers.) He was sure there was not one present who
would not feel for the deprivation which Mr. Methuen had
recently suffered, and for the mental agony under which he
was at that moment labouring. It would be a cheering
thing to him when he (Mr. 1117Idmay) told him the manner
in which his name had been received.—(Cheers.) It would
pour halm into his wounded breast to find that the people
of North Wilts were still his friends.—(Cheers.) Again
returned as their :Representative, the constituency of the
county would find Mr. Methuen still the same as he had
r been—honest and indefatigable in the discharge of his
duty, and never sacrificine, his friends to promote his own or
a:iy other interest.—(Much cheering.)
The show of hands was then taken, and declared to be in
favour of Mr. Long and Mr. Methuen.
A poll was immediately demanded on the part of Sir
Francis Burdett.

The poll will on Monday next,.
I have only just time to add thlt Lord S:ielburne, on
leaving the town in his carriage, was attacked by the fol-
lowers of Burdett, and severely, but we are happy to say
not dangerously, wounded in the head. He was fortu-
nately rescued by the friends of Mr. Methuen, and, after
hq:ine• his hurt dressed by a surgeon, proceeded on his way
home. There is much confusion in the town.

DISGRACEFUL PROCEEDINGS AT TIIE
NOMINATION.
(From the Wiltshire Independent.)
Never was a party s) degraded and disgraced as the
Burdett party this day ; we say deliberately that that party
has, by its conduct this day, d.sgraced and degraded itself
as low as it. is possible for a party, governed by the worst
passions,and using the most abominable means, can possibly
be lowered.
Men hired from the villages, trained to the purpose,
armed with large bludgeons, painted with Me Burdett blue,
and led on by prize-fighters and ruffians brought from Lon-
don (many of whom have been identified) made, during the
❑omination, furious attacks upon Mr. Methuen's and Mr.
Long's friends, striking down the unarmed and harmless
electors with most brutal violence, and when not within
reach of their bludgeons, pelting them with large stones.
Much mischief has consequently been done ; many persons
have been severely injured, and we have heard, but trust
it is not true, that the life of one poor fellow has been sa-
crificed to Tory outrage. . _

We have just learnt that the amiable Lord Shelburne,
the only son of our Lord Lieutenant, the Marquis of Lans-
downe, on leaving the town in a carriage with a few frieads,
was brutally pelted with large stones by Sir F. Burdett's
supporters, issuing from a public-house in his pay, and after-
wards torn out of his carriage and severely maltreated ;
fortunately, Mr. Methuen's friends were quickly informed
of his Lordship's precarious situation, and rushed down and
rescued him, but not till he was much wounded in the head
and other parts of the body. He now lies at Dr. Tomp-
kins', but we hope is not dangerously injured.
Will the men of North Wiltshire—the honest electors—
the honourable men of the county—tamely suffer their great
and their good men—the best blood amongst them—to be
thus basely used ? Will they allow the county to be forcibly
transferred to a man whose, public character has sunk so
low as not only to openly defend his apostacy—to jeer at
all principle—to make a mock of his old friends and his old
opinions—but who hires, or suffers his supporters to hire,
London prize-fighters, and the scum and ruffianism of the
land, to come down and attempt to drive and bully Wilt-
shire men into submission to his will ? No, indeed ! there
is too much independence—there is too proud a spirit in
the breasts of Wiltshire men to suffer and submit to such
degradation.

Deeply will the insults of this day be avenged, not by
outvying the Tories in brutal violence—God forbid that
we should so disgrace ourselves—but by such a majority
of votes at the poll, as will show the Tories that their
conduct this day has driven into our ranks the honourable
and virtuous whom they claimed before, but who wit now
be theirs no longer.

Mr Methuen"; and Mr. Long's success was certain be-
fore : to.day's proceedings have doubled their ma.;orities.
Mr. Methuen's friends far outnumbered Sir F. Burdett's,
but being unarmed, were unequal to maintain the ground
in front of the hustings during part of the time of the
Nomination : at the show of hands, the display of num-
bers was the largest ever seen at any election, ald was
generally supposed to be four-fold greater than Sir F. Bur
dett's. The Sheriff, of course, declared the show of hands
to be in favour of Long and Methuen.

WOOTTON BASSETT.
The Tories of Wootton Bassett, were grievously dis-
appointed yesterday ; they calculated on Sir' F. Burdett
addressing them in favour of Toryism and apostacy, and
erected hustings accordingly ; but Sir Francis was not est
inventus. Whether ho has had another " awkward acci-
dent," or another fit of the gout, we cannot tell, but we
should not be surprised to hear that he is limping oat of
Wiltshire as fast as his crutches can carry him. In these
days of apostacy it is refreshing to hear of men m king
great personal sacrifices for the sake of principle. We
have just heard the name of a Wiltshire gentliman
of in-
fluence, who intends coming from Holland for the sole
purpose of supporting Mr. Methuen.
How cautious a man should be in rejoicing at another's
downfall ; little does he know how soon misfortune m be
his own fate This was the case with Mr. Goddari, of
Cliffe, who was thrown from his horse on Friday last, in
conveying the news of Captain Howard's defeat at Crick-