The Sun.
London, England, 1839-12-18 00:00:00

TO THE ELECTORS OF SOUTH-
WARK.
Gentlemen—Having reason to apprehend that my con-
tinued silence may give countenance to unworthy artifices, I
anticipate my original intention of addressing you, when Par-
liament should assemble. Driven from a service I accepted
with gratitude, and cherished with devotion, I was willing to
defer to the last the painful task of taking leave of men, who,
to the generosity of confiding constituents, have uniformly
added the disinterestedness of friends. Believe me, I terminate
our political relations with a heavy heart, for I deeply feel the
mean hypocrisy and unrelenting injustice which have imposed
the necessity. The spirit of party bitterness has been displayed
upon too many occasions to have escaped the notice and regret
of impartial minds. I shall not descend to their repetition. No
longer a political man, even the strong and abiding sense of in-
justice and oppression shall extort from me no invective ; at
the same time I utterly deny the much vaunted boast ever put
forth by the interested admirers of a selfish and irresponsible
system, " that in this happy country there is no wrong without
a remedy."
Whether
the
present is my ultimate leave of public life, will
depend upon others. Hitherto the sacrifice has been all on one
side ; hereafter it shall be, as it ought to be, reciprocal. It is
a favourite article in the popular creed, and I subscribe to it,
that the representatives of the people ought to be paid ; but it
will continue to be an article of faith only, unless the people
themselves give to it a substantial reality. I verily believe if
the industrious classes, who, of all men arc the most borne
down by inordinate and unequal taxation, were to contribute
their weekly mite to a fund--and it is net necessary to boast
" we are seven millions" in order to raise it,—a capital might
be obtained abundantly sufficient to return to Parlia-
ment, and to recompense the undivided services of at least six
powerful-minded, well-informed men, echo by acting in con-
cert, with discretion and courage, would so lay bare the mon-
strous workings of faction—the bane of our common country—
that no party nor combination of parties could, for any
time, resist the firm resolves of a free people, in-
tent upon the great objects of wise and efficient go-
vernment. I blame not, while I deplore, the pernicious cau-
tion of the working classes in this particular; at the same time,
reeling under the effect of severe sacrifices in successive con-
tests, I feel no man can fairly charge me with selfishness, if,
on the downward slope of time, I listen to the friendly voice of
prudence.
Still the review of the past is not without its congratulations.
From my first return to Parliament in 1818, to the close of the
last Session, I cannot recur to a single vote I desire to revoke,
nor to a sentiment I wish to disclaim ; arid it is with equal pride
I can record the boast, that during that long period I have
never obtained, nor once applied for, one place or situation—
no, not the smallest—either for Constituent, Friend, or Rela-
tion ; and the only office I ever personally held, and that for a
short vacation only, derived its chief value from the opportu-
nity it eventually offered to you, my friends, of testifying, in
a manner the most exalted, your love of justice, and your hatred
of wrong and oppression.
Though my humble efforts to serve you are at an end, .1
shall continue in the enjoyment of a situation for which I am
proud to acknowledge myself your debtor. It required, and
could receive, no higher testimonial than that of being your
Representative, to earn the generous countenance of the Corpo-
ration of London, with whose noble institutions and commercial
greatness you are largely identified. Apart from the penalty of
disqualification, the important and responsible office which the
Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and Common Council, in Common
Council assembled, conferred upon me in a spirit of kindness
and unanimity so kindred to your own, is in every way accept-
able to me. I feel there is nothing in the design or duties of
the office at variance with the purest devotion to freedom. It pos-
sesses all the attributes of independence. I am chosen by the peo-
ple ; lam paid by the people ; and I return to the people equi-
valent services for my salary. Equally popular in its character is
the force over which lam placed. Our ranks are freely entered,
and with freedom relinquished. Inconsiderate youths, strolling
at fairs, or loitering in streets, are not allured by the boisterous
music of the drum, nor their senses drowned in intoxicating
draughts. Each step is the step of choice and deliberation.
Character and fitness are the primary qualifications. Every
constable must be able to read and write, and bring testimonials
of his observance of the social ditties of life. The City Force
is net a mercenary or a military force, raised to be trans-
ported to distant sceees upon political services, but it is a
force raised expressly, and at their own charge, to guard
our citizens from danger, and their property from plunder_
to be ready, at all times, to threw the staff of our Saxon
ancestors around the helplessness of infancy and the decrepitude
of age—t) protect the stranger within our gates from strata-
gem, and innocence from insult—to facilitate the intercourse of
our crowded streets, and to be in effect the vigilant safeguard
of law and liberty. Nor is the City Force popular in its
formation only, it is essentially so in its government. Sta-
tion is neither obtained nor advanced by favour—the ranks
of the men form the nursery of the officers. Such, my friends,
are the legitimate objects, and the mode of directing an esta-
blishment, over which I have been elected by my fellow- citi-
zens to preside, and I feel assured that you will amply appre-
ciate the exulting assurance, that to obtain this office, I have
been no apologist for the past, no apostate for the future.
Of your approaching contest I feel it would be unbecoming
in me to say anything. Well do you know the value of the
high trust committed to your charge, and the Friends of Free-
dom and Reform throughout the land may repose with confi-
dence upon the consistence of your example.
Electors of Southwark, farewell. In whatever s cenes or
circumstances of fortune I may be placed, I shall ever cherish
with pride the noble disinterestedness of your conduct towards
me, and resolve by my actions to sustain its direction.
I am, Gentlemen, your faithful friend and servant,
D. W. HARVEY.
Raleigh House, Brixton Hill, Dec. 14, 1839.