The Sun.
London, England, 1862-12-05 00:00:00

Mice to zinte of the most important companies
czameeted with the port, but that a3,istance
was confined to the various interests of those
respective companies, and, therefore, it would be the
most suicidal thing in the world for the t °rough to
return as their representative such a m to. He (the
Lord Mayor) was free from all these objections; he
was not a director of a company whose interests
were antagonistic to Southampton, and he was pre-
pared, if they elected him, to serve them honestly
and faithfully, for this course would be the only one
he had of maintaining their confidence. As to his
political creed Captain Mangles had said that he
(the Lord Mayor) was opposed to an extension of
the franchise, but he would tell them what the cap-
tain did when there was an opportunity of extend-
ing the franchise to intelligence, talents, and integ-
rity, by allowing lodgers, and persons possessing
personal property in railway shares, or savings bank
deposits, to vote—he voted against the bill. They
intended, they said, to bring in another bill, but
they never did, and he believed never intended to do
so. With regard to the ballot, it was quite a mis-
take to say that he had ever even dreamt of being a
supporter of it. Persons having a stake in the
country did not want to sneak behind a ballot box
in order to give their votes, and if it were in force
the men at this election would be handed over to the
friends of the sheriff, as returning officer, neither he
nor the mayor, nor any other public officer, being
able to protect himself from the stigma, however
fairly and honestly they might have acted. He
would illustrate what the ballot had done in France
and America. In France through it alone they had
lost . every right which made a country worth living
iI in. In the United States it had caused an expendi-
tare of millions, a conscription, suspension of habeas
corpus, and martial law. Every species of terror
had been the result of their haring no prominent
public men to come forward and lead the public
mind ; and why ? Because they voted hishonestly
and in secret, and the result had been that
eminent public men had eschewed politics,
and left the country to itself, and anarchy and con-
fusion had been the result of democratic institutions
which had adopted the ballot box. With regard
to church rates, he said some years ago, and he re-
peated it now—if church rates were to be abolished
there must be an equivalent. If they were prepared
to abolish our noble constitution, sever Church and
State, and let in confusion, if they were prepared
to work demolition and spoliation, and to hand

over the Church, as they did in an earlier age, to
the nobles, let them allow his opponent to have his
way, and abolish church rates throughout the coun-
try. Mr. Lobb had referred to their armorial
bearings ; but if they returned Capt. Mangles he
was afraid they would lose one of their supporters,
and that the lion on one side would tumble into the
sea. He had only to repeat that he believed his
hon. opponent to be a most conscientious man, who
had well discharged his duties as chairman of the
South Western ; but who was not fit and proper to
be entrusted to represent their interests in the Com-

mons House of Parliament. (Loud cheers.)

The SHERIFF then announced that Mr. Scrase
had withdrawn his candidate—(laughter)---and he
called for a show of hands, which he declared in
favour of Alderman Rom.

Three cheers were given for each candidate be.
:ore the meeting separated.

711 E .41ALDON CLUB.

MALD ON, THURSDAY,

The third anniversary of the Maldon Liberal In
dependent Club was celebrated in the public hal
in this town this evening, and was attended by up-
wards of 100 gentlemen. The hall was hung with
the customary banners and devices, and it was a sig-
nificant sign of the times that one of them expressed
the belief that " economy and retrenchment" would
be the " best means of reducing the public burdens,"
a fact which " nobody can deny." The gather-
ing possessed some special local importance, as a
strong effort is about to be made to secure the re-
turn of a second Conservative member for the
borough of Maldon in the person of Mr. H. J. Sel-
win, so as to make up the " Conservative ten,"
which is one of the cherished traditions of Essex
Conservatism. The Liberal electors consequently
rallied round the present Liberal member for Mal-
-- _
Mr. T. B. Western, occupied the chair. Among
the gentlemen at the principal table were—Sir T.
F. Buxton, Mr. E. Buxton, M.P. for Maidstone;
Mr. J. Hardcastle, M.P. for Bury St. Edmunds;
Colonel Western, Major Russell, the Rev. Sir J. P.
Wood, the Rev. B. G. Luard, Mr. R. J. Bagshaw,
late M.P. for Harwich ; M. G. Courtauld, Mr. G.
De Horne Vaizey, Mr. R. Honeywood, &c.
The usual loyal and patriotic toasts having been
disposed of,
The Rev. Sir J. P. Wood, replying for the clergy,
Colonel Western for the army, and Major Rus-
sell for the volunteers,
The CHAIRMAN proposed "Prosperity to the
Mahlon Liberal Club," observing that the real ob-
ject of a Conservative gathering, heldsome months
ago in the town, was to introduce a candidate to
contest the borough on Conservative principles, in
the person of Mr. H. J. Selwin. Mr. Selwin was a
gentleman whom he had long known, and whom
he highly esteemed ; but he trusted that the electors
of Maidon would tell him when the proper time
arrived that,however much they might respect him
personally, they strongly objected to place him in the
House of Commons, to the exclusion of their present
Liberal representative. The Conservative party
were aiming at securing the entire Parliamentary
representation of Essex; but in this they would find
themselves mistaken,for there were symptoms abroad
that Maldon would not in future have the honour
of alone returning a Liberal member among all the
Essex constituencies. Essex, rising from her pre-
sent political depression, would, he believed, return
her fair share of Liberal members to the House of
Commons. (Cheers.)
The Rev. Sir J. P. WOOD pre posed " The Liberal
Members of the House of Commons."
Mr. C. BUXTON, M.P., whose name was associated
with the toast, replied, and said the last time he had
the pleasure of speaking in that hall he gave a brief
sketch of the progress which constitutional liberty
had made throughout Europe in recent years, In
the year which had since intervened, that progress,
although chequered, had been steady, and, in some
parts of Europe, rapid. In Italy it was remarkable
how quickly people had caught the spirit and
adapted themselves to the forms of constitutional
government. In Austria, lately so despotic, the go-
vernment had actually reduced the army in accord-
ance with the decision of the Diet. In Prussia, al-
though for the moment despotism appeared to be
triumphant, the magnificent stand made by the na-
tion against the King—a stand so temperate, so
thoughtful, and so wisely managed—yet indicated
the ultimate victory of freedom. In Greece, above
all, which had so often been pointed at as an exam-
ple of the absurdity of giving a constitution to a
people before they were ripe for it, a revolution had
taken place which showed in a most striking man-
ner not only the determination of the people to
govern themselves, and not to allow their liberties
to be trampled on, but also their fitness to manage
their own affairs. It was painful to turn from these
cheering signs of the future in Europe to the awful
struggle which was taking place in North America;
but he thought the time had come when all ought to
be making up their minds as to what we ought to
wish for with regard to that great struggle. We
heard people saying they were on the side of the
Northerners or on the side of the South; but he did
not think we ought to be content with a vague par-
tisanship like that. In fact, for his own part, he
could hardly understand how ahy Englishman
could be a partisan either of the North or of the
South
siouth in their present aims. Some persons seemed
to think
palet sm that the South put itself beyond the
3', whatever the sufferings it might
endure, on ''thaccount of its brim,r' a slave-owning;
nation. Re had been told that ho
was an unworthy
s
on of his father because he did not think so ; but
his father, with
all
his anti-slavery zeal, never
failed to regard it as
the misfortune rather than
wiin7 father always regarded
sthat they were in that
deplorable position.
them as having a ktrong
claimto
wocdontshiadter.attion, and
the Quarterly Review itself one
tirely duo to him that the proposal to clorawpaesnseante.