The Sun.
London, England, 1853-01-06 00:00:00

SOUTHAMPTON.

The nomination for this borough took place yesterday
in the Town-hall, Southampton. As there was some
opposition to the re-election of Sir A. J. E. Cockburn,
on his acceptance of office under the new Ministry, the
proceedings were chazirterised by considerable anima-
tion. Mr. A. B. Cochrane, who was defeated at the
last general election, contests the borough .with the At-
torney-General, but his opposition is not of an active
character, as the hon. gentleman relies upon the peti•
tion presented against Sir A. Cockburn for bribery.and
treating, and will, in the event of his re-election torday,
present a petition and pray for the seat. After the
usual formalities,

Mr. R. ANDREWS, ex-Mayor, proposed Sir A. J. E.
Cockburn. The Derby Government, he said, had had a
fair trial, and now we had a new Ministry, in which
were Radicals, Whigs, Conservatives, and Tories'. • He
was very glad to see the mixture. It had all the talents,
all the power, all the desire, and he believed all the
ability to carry out measures beneficial to the mass of the
people. As to the petition which had been presented
against the late election of the hon. Gentleman, Sir A.
Cockburn, he believed, would sooner give 1,0001. than
that this petition should be withdrawn, and the present
Attorney-General would come out of the inquiry a spot-
less and honest man. (Cheers.)
Captain BOWYER seconded the motion.

Colonel CRABBE proposed Mr. .A.:11; Cochrane as a
fit and proper person to represent the borough of South-
ampton. Mr. Cochrane was before the electors some
four or five months ago ; and, although he was not suc-
cessful, he had polled a very large number of votes.
The hon. gentleman's opinions were, he believed, the
same now as they were when he last presented himself
before them, and he was still anxious, as he had always
been to carry out measures for the benefit of the work-
ing classes, as well as for the rich. (Cheers and disap-
probation.)

Mr. Kr/41- seconded the nomination. With regard to
the malt-tax, he was, of course, as a brewer, in, favour
of beer—(laughter)—but he doubted whether it world
be for the benefit of the working classes to take off the
malt-tax ; for he believed the greater part of the proposed
remission would come into the pockets of the. brewers.
This was a personal question, and he did not think it
ought to have been put to him, but, as it had been put,
he had answered it candidly. (Cheers and laughter.)
Sir A. J. E. COCKBURN, on presenting himself to the
electors, was received with great enthusiasm. He asked
for the indulgence of these present, as he bad been suf-
fering foi some days from severe indisposition, which had
not been improved by the exertions he had gone through
within that period. After alluding to the career of the
Derby Ministry, and exposing the defects of their finan-
cial and commercial measures, he went on to .say that
the new Ministry had been formed of men of various
shades of opinion, and no one would dispute that it em-
braced an amount of ability such as no Government
which had been seen in this country within the last half-
century had been enabled to bring to the administration
of public affairs. (Cheers.) On the same bench in .the
House of Commons would now sit Lord John,Russell,
Lord Palmerston, Sir James Graham, Mr. Gladstone,
Sir Charles Wood, Mr. Sidney Herbert, and Sir William
Molesworth—(cheers)—in the Cabinet ; out of the Cabi-
net, besides, there would be such men as Mr. C. Villiers
and Mr. Bernal Osborne ; and if her Majesty's principal
law advisers should be less efficient than might be desired,
he could say that his colleague and coadjutor was one of
the ablest men who ever raised a voice in Westminster-
hall, and he would add that two more sincere and zeal-
ous reformers of the law could not be found than his
colleague and himself. (Cheers. The present Govern-
ment was one which, if you looked at the various mem-
bers of the Cabinet as politicians, as orators, as states-
men, and as administrators, might challenge comparison
with any Administration ever formed. (Hear, hear.)
But they were told it was a coalition ; and England, the
late Chancellor of the Exchequer had told us, did not
" love coalitions." No, England did not love coalitions,
if by coalitions was meant a combination of men who
sacrificed principle for the sake of power and placer; but
if they found men forgetting their own personal claims—
(hear)—if they found men uniting where there was no
sacrifice of principle, and for the interest of the public
service, to form an Administration which could carry on
the Government of the country efficiently and well, the
people of England, who loved to be well served, whoad
loved to be served by men of ability, and talent,.
while ii
it involved no sacrifice of principle, broughtofinto theet pub-
licad
experience, would not object to a coalition, whieli,
service the greatest possible amountf .
,ptnlnectipthleemonnhltinhek
with having
pabairtlitoyf.
any
yuotf wtiams
itiheewremainayistseancri?ficpe.oon .
sacrificed
blink
the question. He had been charged
gpohhadticaalnlylonotohuerrtomaotdievseirethoafnp
latlinaei
his
dpwriintielipnleevsearnhdahvii sn
and
actuated the adventurer and the place-hunter.
These were serious charges, and ought not to be want-
only or recklessly made. His principles had been known
to them from the time he first came forward to contest
the borough, and if he believed that in joining this Ad-
ministration he should sacrifice aught o those principles
—if he believed the government wished to go backward
instead of forward, or that they were less likely to attain
the objects which he had at heart, in common with his
constituents —he should think himself unworthy of
standing before them if, under such circumstances, he
But, in the fist place, he
principleswould heas khatdhealwelaeycstomrsaiton-
had joined this or any other Government. (Cheers.)
andtrue wihhaetthtehrethperyimweemreinliiskteelry
wasto bLeord compro-
mised
remember what were the
byit
with
w h associationom a with
artthye presentman
he hadA d Administration.
str
hithertoation .
Aber-
deen,t aai It i t main-
tained,
wasd
in common. But no one could deny that Lord
Aberdeen and the members of the party who had
cs?irulßd.bpe
mhiethne
as
sot
oa acknowledged I eiciloglr, himp r
oahs
ittyh,eiranldieaidn
tNeVgerrietyalt
there
peel,
qgaue‘s,teio4
pTlaheeeyanwderpeowthere
inm eonrdewrhtoo,
carry
out that " just, wise, and beneficial measure"—(loud
cheers)—whereby the springs of industry were light-
ened and the food of the people cheapened. For that
they scattered personal and party considerations to the
winds ; for that they forewent place and power, and
submitted for six years, as it were, to remain a com-
parativelyt. small and insignificant party in Parliament.
(Hear, hear.) But their political honesty was onlyrrad
the more apparent and manifest by this. Wilaobn to
been the first object of Lord Derby when callea
Lord. John
form a Ministry at the first resignation of. e
addressed
Russell ? Why, the first person to whombunt 'lr. Glad_
himself was Mr. Gladstone and his i
political
—another proof of the right hon.ger Pt'
all nsiderntions of a
stone refused to unite himself with Lhonesty, and of his superiority tocalcame
this great discus-
personal character. Then thesreion,
as
every one would
sion upon the budget—a nannecet partyo.
ejo_e.i.rnb Derby in power
to the country. By a
adnfit, of most vital importance
Peelite party and the
of the nation, between.alscheme of the late Government
i thethe face of Parliament and
Idaenphaianx
concert, as Mr. Gladstone
was defeated. P e
publicly declared, there was
none. The
had already
union of parties against_ .
uLnibioenr;lsw, hthiche
arose out
nature of the
fit took
financial
il aocues
circumstances, and it resulted in
of the
Ministry.
became necessary
to form a new one. He acknowledged without re-
thaegainstthat
selrtriet
serve that lie did not believe any Government could
which ree-
sented the agriculturists and the greater portion oft he
aristocracy, unless composed of the remnant of Sir Ro-.
bert Peel's party and the
Liberals.(Hear, hear.) It
was necessary for the public s •
service—nay, more, deeming
the financial schemes of
tstotood
the late Ministry to be fraught
with danger,
believed not only the public service, but the public safety,
required that that Administration should not he suffered
to return to power. (Hear.) It was necessary, there-

fore, to unite all the intelligence which Parliament af-
forded in order to furnish a strong and efficient Govern-
ment ; but undoubtedly, if that end was to be accom-
plished by the sacrifice of principle on the part of the
Liberal party, he would say, better forego the good than
do that from which good could never come—namely,
have recourse to wrongful means to attain it. (Hear,
hear.) But, he said, there was no sacrifice of principle.
Look to the addresses put forth by all the members of
this Administration. Did they find in them any retro-
gression from the principles maintained by the Liberal
party, from those principles which the Government of
Lord John Russell—imperfectly, if they liked—endea-
voured to carry out ? He was told that he was sacrificing
his principles by taking office under Lord Aberdeen.
What principle ? He had always been an advocate for ex-
tension of the suffrage. He was so before he joined
any Government he continued so under Lord John
Russell, he was so still, and he pledged himself that he
never would be a member of any Government which
did not only advocate, but attempt to carry out that
principle. The present Government would do so.
They had read the speech of Sir J. Graham—that
masterly speech which he had made to the electors of
Carlisle. They had read also the dignified speech of
Lord J. Russell to the electors of London ; the address
of Mr. S. Herbert to the electors of Wiltshire, and the
eloquent language addressed by Sir W. Molesworth to
the electors of Southwark. Did they see in all those
speeches any symptoms of going back ? (Hear, hear.)
Certainly not. But then he should be told that the
Earl of Aberdeen and the members of his
party were
sacrificing something of their principles. Lord Aber-
deen numbered among his followers some of the ablest
men which this generation, or even the generation
before us, had ever seen. Those men had not been
for the last ten years idle or indifferent spectators of
passing events ; and they could not fail to have
observed the growing intelligence and the love of truth
of the people of England. During that time the great
problem had been tried whether that so-called revolu-
tionary measure' the Reform Bill, which extended the
franchise to the 10/. householders, had worked well or
ill, and it had been seen whether a farther step might
not be taken in advance, and whether Parliament might
not still further extend the rights, powers, and privileges
of the people of this country. Lord Aberdeen and his
friends would no doubt be able to give a good account
of themselves. For him it was enough to know that
they were prepared to go in the march of political ad-
vancement, and that they were prepared to extend the
rights of the people with regard to their representation
in Parliament. (Hear, hear.) Had he ever proclaimed
himself an advocate of more than this, that he was now
to be told that he was sacrificing his principles to place ?
He had never been an advocate of universal or manhood
suffrage. He had been asked that question repeatedly,
and had always said he could not go so far. He would
tell them why. In all these matters, when they were
dealing with great principles, upon which the safety
and welfare of the nation might depend, whatever might
be their theories, they must proceed slowly and cautiously,
not only to prevent the possibility of danger, but also
to carry along with them the thinking and the
wealthy classes of the community. If they excited the
fears and apprehensions of those classes as to the perfect
success of the measures proposed, they would, like the
dog in the fable, be letting go the substance while they
grasped at the shadow—(hear, hear)—and, instead of
improving their position, they would injure it. He had
always said that the people must be educated, and ren-
dered, by that means, capable of exercising political
power. The schoolmaster was the great pioneer of civi-
lisation and power. (Applause.) A great statesman
had once said, as the rallying cry of his party, "Regis-
ter, register, register ;" and if he might presume to give
a rallying cry, it would be, "Educate, educate, educate."
At the present moment we knew by authentic returns
that one-half of the population of this bounty could
neither read nor write, were destitute of the means of
instruction, and ignorant of all that pertained to Govern-
ment or to education. He said this class must be educated.
This was a first duty. It was of no use to give them
power until they were prepared to use it wisely and bene-
ficially to themselves. If the French people had been
satisfied with constitutional freedom—if they had been
satisfied with progressing step by step, and with en-
• larging the boundaries of popular power gradually, their
laws, their lives, and their liberties would not have
been prostrated, as they were now, at the feet of a
despotic tyrant. We saw not long ago—and the memo-
rable epoch was still fresh in the minds of all—we saw
Europe agitated to its centre by a desire for freedom and
for constitutional liberty. Despotism tottered and
quailed before the cry, and we thought it had been
swept away from the face of Europe for ever. Alas !
what was the state of things now ? The people every-
where cast down, despotism triumphant, military execu-
tions and scourgings, which made one's blood run cold
to read of, taking place everywhere. The Government
could not stand still, and, as the people showed them-
selves intelligent and wise, and fit to be intrusted with
political rights, they must extend those rights and ex-
tend the representation. He had advocated and voted
for a Si. franchise, and believed that that was the next
step they would have to take. (Hear.) He was an advo-
cate for the ballot—(cheers)—and before he joined the
present Government, he took care to ascertain that his
vote upon that subject would be left to his own arbitra-
ment, and not be made a matter of Ministerial dicta-
tion. He had heard it said lately that the ballot was a
bad thing, because you could not make it compulsory.
Now, that was a very poor argument, and his opinion
was that they could make it compulsory. On the other
hand, it was said that the ballot was a bad thing, be-
cause it engendered secrecy, and that secrecy was foreign
to the nature and character of the English nation.
There was a good deal in that argument. But the
answer to it was, that if, on the one hand, it was foreign
to the English character to do secretlythat which ought to
be done in the face of all men, on the other hand, it was still
worse that an Englishman in whom the constitution of
his country vested a certain trust for the benefit of the
community should be placed in such.a position as that
he could not, without bringing ruin upon himself and
family, exercise that trust, and was compelled to sacrifice
his country for the sake of protecting those were near
and dear to him. (Applause.) Upon that ground he
-thought it was better that the ballot should be adopted,
with all its faults, than that county constituencies should
he driven to the poll, as they now were, by the stewards
of their landlords, like so many cattle and sheep to the
market, and compelled to record their votes for candi-
dates of whom they did not approve, at the dictation of '
others. (Hear, hear.) That question remained under
this as under the former Government. He had men-
tioned the importance he attached to the subject of
education. Tho present Government had pledged itself
to take the subject of the education of the people imme-
diately into consideration. Further reforms, also, were
promised. Legal reform he could pledge himself for.
(Applause.) He had the honour to be a member of the
commission which had to revise the common law of the
land, and he could say this, that when Parliament met
they would be prepared to lay before it a report which
would show they had not been idle, nor wanting in zeal
to carry out reform. (Hear, hear.) The subject of our
finances was now committed to one of the ablest minds
of the present day, Mr. Gladstone, and all people
seemed now to be agreed that the principle of a gradu-
ated income tax was one which must be applied, as far
as Parliament could apply it, at the earliest possible
period. (Hear, hear.) He had always said so. He
never could bring himself to believe that the income
which, although nominally of a given value, was not
intrinsically of that value, ought to be taxed on the same
footing as they taxed the income which was derived
from fixed and secured property. (Hear, hear.) The
income which was dependent upon the precarious
accidents of life and health, was a totally different thing
from the income secured upon property ; and, when,
they taxed the one at the same rate as the other,
disguise it as they would, they committed a great and
grievous injustice. (Loud cries of " Hear, hear.") He
knew it was very difficult to apply any principle of gra-
duation to such a tax. All that could be done was to
make some approximation to justice ; but, better an im-
perfect approximation of that sort, than a stubborn re-
sistance to a principle which justice and truth had clearly
shown to be on its* side. (Cheers.) These were, un-
doubtedly, great questions. There remained the subject
of our colonies. Those colonies had been, more or less,
from the earliest time, subject to misrule. A great re-
former had, however, risen among us—he meant Sir W.
Molesworth—(cheers)--who had devoted his sound in-
tellect and great powers of thought to investigate the
subject, to probe the evils complained of to the core, and
to discover a remedy. It was no trifling thing to find
that man a member of the Cabinet. True it was, the
colonies were not at this moment intrusted to his care ;
but this he knew, that all the right hon. baronet's
opinions would have the weight they deserved with the
Administration, and they might depend upon it that his
presence in the Cabinet was a guarantee to the full for
colonial reform, and for the introduction of the prin-
ciple of self-government among the colonies of this coun-
try. (Cheers.) Well, then, he wanted to know again
where was the going back, where was the sacrifice of prin-
ciple in the members of the new Ministry ? It was very
well to hurl a political anathema, and to make charges of
undue sacrifice of principle for the sake of power and
place. But let his accusers descend to particulars. The
new Administration combined both ability and power to
carry out their principles. He believed it would have
the confidence of the people of England, and he believed
they would only retain power upon the condition of ad-
vancing the welfare of the great mass of the nation.
(Hear.) It made an appeal to no pocket or hole-and-
corner boroughs to decide on its political principles.
What places were to pronounce the verdict of the people
of England upon the Ministry ? Southampton, Oxford,
Nottingham,
Halifax, Leeds, Brighton, Wiltshire, South-
wark, and London; these were the constituencies ap-
pealed to, and he rejoiced to say that almost everywhere
the Government candidates had been returned without
even the shadow of opposition. In Halifax, it was true,
there had been a struggle, and what had been the result ?
Why, that Sir Charles Wood had been returned by a
tti-
umphant majority. Gloucester was another exception,
• and so Was Southampton ; but the gentlemen who ap-
' eared to oppose him were obliged to admit that they
ad very shrewd suspicions they were in a minority.
~•
%;-41)ar.) Re was far, however, from blaming the oppo-
,• ,:•
;' -. ?site party for putting forward a candidate to oppose him,
• : r.md he would not care if they only fought him fairly.
, . ..I.lter an attack on the pamphlet of Mr. Cochrane, en-
. , -titled " Who are the Liberals," and a lengthy allusion
t4the attacks made against him (Sir A. Cockburn) of hav-
• * been guilty of bribery
theat tehrecitaoerts ewleocutlido n,
carryl hexis-
. .
`,/ pres sed his assurance that
cause. to a victorious and triumphant issue,on (Th
d echheeeT
and learned gentleman sat down amid p
ing, after' having spoken for more than two hoguers.)
Mr. A. J 3. COCHRANE next address the electors.
The MAX 'OR then called for a show of hands, which
he declared to be in favour of Sir A. Cockbuin.
A poll was t hen demanded on behalf of Mr. Cochrane,
and appointed f, •this day (Thursday).
sed to the Mayor, and
A vote of thin 'do was then pas