The Sun.
London, England, 1865-05-29 00:00:00

HALIFAX.

The letter of Sir Charles Wood, M.P. for this
borough, intimating.that it is not his. intention to
offer himself for re-election, is as follows :-
1
" 10, 134-rave-square, May 22;1865.
"Dear Mr. Crossley,—As you were the chairman of the
committee which conducted the last eloction of Mr. Stans-
fold and myself, and are now the chairman of the Liberal
Registration Association for the borough of Halifax, it
seems to me that it is to you that I ought to address any
communication in regard to the election which must soon
take place, and I must request you to make it known to
my friends and to the electors of Halifax in such manner
as you may think best. It is now nearly a year since Mr.
Akroyd declared himself a candidate for the representation
of Halifax,.and since, on this being made known, an una-
nimous vote of confidence in my colleague and myself was
Passed at a meeting of the Liberal electors presided over
by yourself. As there was not at that time any prospect
of an early dissolution of Parliament, it did not appear to
me to be necessary, or indeed fitting, to take any step in the
matter. It seems to me, however, that the time has now
come when it is due to my friends, and to the electors of
Halifax, that they should be apprised of my intentions,
and, painful as it has been to me to come to the conclusion
which I have now to announce, I never entertained any
doubt as to what that conclusion should be, if on the evo
of an election the present state of circumstances should
exist. The recollection of one sad event, deeply impressed
upon my memory, as I am sure it is on that of the older
inhabitants of Halifax, would render it extremely painful,
if not impossible, for me to be personally opposed to the son
of Mr. Jonathan Akroyd. I certainly never had contem-
plated the possibility of such a state of things, but as it has
occurred I cannot hesitate as to the course which I should
pursue. I cannot be placed in personal opposition to Mr.
Akro Yd. Still less could I desire, or even consent, to take
the place of my colleague and personal friend, Mr. Stans-
feld, the son, too, of another of my oldest and best friends.
I must, therefore, decline to be put in nomination as a• .
candidate for the xepresentationof Halifax at the ap-
proaching election. I will not attempt to disguise from
you or from my friends how much it costs me to sever a
connection which Las lasted upwards of 32 years, Per-

sonally unknown at the time to any one in Halifax, I had
the honour of being selected, on public grounds, by the
Liberal party as one of the representatives of the borough
on its first enfranchisement, and the confidence of the
majority of the electors has maintained me in that position
at 12 successive elections. I frankly confess that I had
entertained the hope that for the remainder of the time for
which I may have, the strength and ability to do my duty
in the House of Commons, I might have had the pride and
satisfaction of representing the boroiigh inmynative county
which has so long honoured me with its confidence. The
considerations which I have mentioned compel me, however,
in the circumstances which have arisen, to resign that hope.
In taking my leave of you I must express my feelings of
deep gratitude to those who have for many years been my
tried and constant friends, and I can never forget the un-
varying kindness which I have experienced on all occasions
during a long course of frank and unreserved intercourse,
from all classes and from all parties. I will only, in con-
clusion, beg you to accept for yourself my warmest thanks
for your unvarying kindness on all occasions.—Believe me,
dear Mr. Crossley, yours very sincerely,
"Mr. John Crossley. CHARLES WOOD."

Mr. Crossley, to whom the above letter was ad-
dressed, is the chairman of the Halifax Liberal
Registration Assocation, and after he had communi-
cated the contents of the letter to the members of
the association, they unanimously passed a resolution
expressive of regret at the cause which had induced
Sir C. Wood to tender his resignation. As has
already been stated in The Sun, there is every pro-
bability that Mr. Edward Ackroyd and Mr. Stans-
feld will be returned at the ensuing election without
opposition. Both gentlemen are Liberals ; but Mr.
Stansfeld, who is now the colleague of Sir C. Wood,
is of the more extreme school of politicians. They
are both natives of Halifax.