The Sun.
London, England, 1838-05-26 00:00:00

bet for Pembroke on what he had said concerning the Lord Adsceate.
He would also allude to some other extraneous matters. The Right
Hon. Member for Pembroke had divided his charges against the Lord Ad-
vocateinto two beads—first, as to his conduct in the county, and secondly,
as C hairman of the Committee. As to the first, it was charged against the
Lord Advocate that he was to blame in not allowing the agreement
between the sheriff and the magistrates to be carried into effect.
This was that the preservation of the peace should be entrusted to the
magistrates, but that the Sheriff should have the power of calling. in
the military if necessary. The Right Hon. Member also stated that_
Lord Minto and the Lord Advocate were averse from calling in
military, but if the House would attend to some documents which 11
°
was about to read they would find that the conduct of the Lord Ad-
vocate in this matter had been unexceptionable. [The Rght 1-I°l.
Ij,
Gentleman hose proceeded to read from a pamphlet, but so rapt,
and in so low a tone, as to he but indistinctly understood. We 'llO
derstood the purport of his extract to be, that the Lord Advocated
T,
' refusing the calling out of the military had acted on a perfect un em.
standing with the Magistrates and the Sheriff] Under these circu
stances he did not think the Lord Advocate should be blamed for attend
ing to the suggestions of the local Magistrates. In the next place, tia
Right Hon. Baronet had attempted to show that the Lord Advhte•
tle.
had been to blame in accepting the Chairmanship of the
But what were the circumstances under which he had accepted Tnt
at
Chairmanship ?—(Hear.) The Lord Advocate was a Member of
House, and he (Mr. Fergusson) presuMsd emitted to attend a
and if the other side of the House had as good an opinion of him as ".;;e
to strike him out when called, he had no choice but to be one of
Committee. Further, he (Mr. Ferguson) would say that when a per-
son of his talents and station was one of a Committee his appointment
as Chairman was almost inevitable. There was no proof that this Weti
ing had anything to do with the election.—(Oh, oh.) Hon Gentleit a
might cry " Oh, oh," but that was no argument against him, thougn
very popular one on the other side of the House--it should not stop 1"i.
Lord
—(Laughter.) Much stress had been laid on the constancy of ,„
John Scott, and nn the fact that he had at last been obliged to g
way, but there was no proof that Lord John Scott had been at. all
intimi-
dated. Now, with respect to the evidence of Major Napier, it was to
be
observed that he described the crowd as so dense as not to be able:
raise their hands against Lord John Scott, end yet one of them 2'1,0
described as throwing dirt. With respect to those persons
had been described as not having polled it would almost
pear as if they had refrained on purpose to give colour to sn
ce.
a proceeding as the present, or to make a case before Si Commit
There was a charge of making a Cabinet Minister and a Peer guilty of
,„,
interfering with the freedom of election by entering the town and use;
his influence during the time of the poll going on ; and again, h' err,
charged with not entering the town for the purpose of using his P
soual influence for the Preservation of the peace.— (Ministerial cheers.)
What were the words which were used, and upon which so much st r_30,0
was laid. They were these :—" You have clone e
well to.day— °not
again and assist us to.morrow." What was there in this—was it
the usual language on election occasions ? 'Twas the regular old endue
election says. The whole of the evidence relating to Lord Mintow7:
given by one who, though deposing to facts, gave them on his belie ,t a,
On the whole, it did not appear to him (Mr. Fergusson)
ease had been made out sufficient to sustain the motion of his Right",,,,
Friend. No popular election took place in England in which there.;
not greater excitement and violence than in that of Roxburgh. In s°
cases not only was these riot but actual murder had been committee
Let the House remember the Nottingham and the Wakefield elections'
a,
There could be no denying that assaults and personal indignity had ht"';
committed at Hawick, but there had been no homicides.—(Hear, heart"'
Why had not a Bill been proposed ito remove the polling Place f oo
Wakefield ? This would have been but equal justice.
Sir G. CLERK felt that the speech of the Right Hon. Gentleero
who had just concluded was more a justification of the CommittetitT;
an answer to the Right Hon. Baronet who had brought forward
motion. For himself, lie would not enter upon that question. 6-4
did not wish to impugn the decision of the Committee, nor either
‘,4
the Right Hon. Baronet who opened the debate. He, howevet,
not approve of the discretion of the Committee in rejecting evidelsic.„6
which, in his opiniorebore uper the case which they.had to decide uP°l",O
testimony which formed the ground_work of the present motion. itna
been argued that wh it occurred before the election formed no greu
winhqiueihryh;adbuitnththereci
rwansatirrtehinag mproorsiewcgteil:.eeratletrihdaenntcoy._loo(ktietoar:7l::;;,
hear.) It had been fully shown that the proceedings at Howie',. te,3%!
not the consequence of any sudden ebullition of popular feeling. '' -by
evidently a pre-concerted attack, without any grounds of provocati",i
the other party. There were no banners displayed, no offence are"
:and yet they were treated by a cowardly and brutal mob with g°:,
brutality and indignity. The evidence of conspiracy was obvious' eat-
it because death had not occurred, that a remedy should not be apP": tos
How long would this be the case, if the parties were to be aliowe"
come into conflict with each other? Surely, then, it would be nativebetter to agree to the motion of the Right Hon Baronet, than t° ha
ed
the town open to such consequences as must naturally be aPPrehaefd the- •
from the present state of things. The affair had been spoken of by
mud-bespattered patriots and the mud.bespattered Whigs. But u,° hjalal
civility had been offered, as if none was shown at the riots Wili"01
been held at Westminster or elsewhere.—(Hear, hear.) But lie,Wever
also ask whether such an atrocious, cold.blooded conspiracy had enas
taken place? The certificate of the Hon. Member for Roxburgh was
re'
of special pleading, while the fact was that the people would not ved° had
out of the inn. The mildest remedy that could have been Pr.:4l°e, e
been suggested, and the speech of the Right Hon , Baronet did not -°•11
tain one angry word, and the sole object in view ;vas to introduce tliVrgitia
to prevent a recurrence of such circumstances, and enable the RelLiblead
electors to vote in safety.—(The Hon. Baronet then sat down an's-
cheering, and cries of " Divide.") pre
The LORD-ADVOCATE could not address the House on ".° rtoy
sent occasion without expressing his thanks for the kindness and c for
of the Right Hon. Gentleman opposite (Sir James Graham), and all : been
his having brought forward every possible charge that could haV;ion he
made.—(Cheers from the Ministerialists.) Standing in the situs-should
beam it was most necessary that a curious and scrutinizing sesre,:iiigation.
ade with respect to his own conduct, and if, upon Wve- -isited
he were found to have deserved the remarks made, he shonlw etintrY•
with a reprimand for not having maintained the peace of the - sheriff
On the 25th of July he had addressed a letter to Mr. Oliver, the iv
of Roxburgh, who earnestly requested the assistance of the military that
reply was that the military should be in readiness, but requested be
they should be kept in the distance, so that if force were necessary tv,„,l
used it should not be by violating the constitutional practice with 1'01;i
to elections. He demanded also that the force should not be
until the last moment, and for doing so he was arraigned by the Right
Hon. Gentleman opposite. He could only say that if the Cir-
cumstances were again to occur he should act in a similar ways
(Hear, hear.) The ground of charge against him consisted only
that, and he had in the most polite and civi 1 terms requested that ti:6
troops should be stationed at St. Boswell's, instead of at Hawick. This
solicitation was contained in a letter to the Sheriff. He had written also
to Lord Greenock to countermand any orders that had previously her
issued. There was nothing in all that correspondence calculated:
establish the charge which had been made against him. Hon. Gent'-
men opposite had said that the military were not at any time t°
-ee
brought forward without there was an overwhelming reason, and.,
asked what was the consequence on all occasions of their introduoobt,
;
the military ? In the year 1741 were there not riots industriously,
mented, and had not magistrates, both before and since, been Praia
for their reluctance in the introduction of the soldiery ? A forn-"
speaker had pronounced it in an address, now forgotten, that thepoge,
ciple of allowing a body of armed soldiers into a town was an infrta
meat of the liberty of the subject. And what had he done contrartia
that opinion but do as all men would by establishing in a neighhes.iens,
county that force which he ordered, with instrtt ssthe
that it was not to be used, unless necessary. He wondered at
the
deep terms of sorrow and remorse expressed by the friends
Right Honourable Baronet, that these proceedings should gitr or-
deep wound to this free country. He wondered that th%oest
tisans of the Right Hon. Baronet—although expressed in the
and most feeling terms—that they should have made the 5 ~,2o
a ge
ehree 0-
ewhheeirilevthedey,
tiTeigihtitgrhetm
Her,oeurrtahheie election ofCar I isle,
on: et
(tbheefyo rhea,dl;
Parliament), and when Lord Lowther and Sir John Beckett we been
down and had their legs broken. At the
gaged in an election contest.—(Hear, hear.) Persons there of $
knocked
sheriff, founded upon the representations of certain persons Wh°:atioll ef
they looked upon the presence of the military for the Pregersherilf
tranquility, he should never be deterred from requesting the th„ugll
perform that part of Isis duty which consisted in ascertain:oh
what was
the best channels of information, namely the local authoritie f the mean'
the state of the country, and what the extent and character
which might be employed to preserve the peace of shed
of charge
(Cheers.) Yet that was what he understood to be the grcatu to to the
against him. The letter addressed lay him (the Lord Adt:th ofJulay;
sheriff; to which he had already adverted, was dated on the „gistrat'"
On the 29th the correspondence between the sheriff and the r°,..` ord
tcsok place, and on the 31st ofJuly the sheriffwrote bias (the
h.'e irt
vocatt) a letter, which he received at a very early hour on t
yOtir
August. That letter was in these terms : applicati.id
that
made to ,e
"My Lord—With reference to the communication t I
Lordship
ryesterday, I have now to inform your LordshiPat Y°°-
this day had conference therein mentioned, the result of w"ting.
Lordship will learn from the inclosed copy of the minute of rnee,,,,sed
" I have only further to request your Lordship will be 1",„„ you
whist
face
favour me with your instructions, and especially to state
authorise me to devolve the whole responsibility of keeping tbrthig the,
upon the Magistrates, and also the power of calling in and dire-rcbein''
military ; and also whether your Lordship approves of the fun"
stationed at St. Boswell's instead of Denholm. • answer.
" I send this by an express, who will wait your Lordship''
—I have the honour to be, &Wc.
" ILLIAM OLIVER RUTHE—
f'OII9.
" Hawick, July 31." Wit
he wrote tcsooand•
To preven any mistake or any ,
Greenock,t the Commander-in-Chief of themisunderstanding military forces in
His letter to that Noble Lord was in these terms : fro in 14 (i
. e
"My Dear Lord—l have this morning received an exPtcs* , rar chi
Oliver Rutherford, Sheriff of Roxburghshire, and Mr. Goodfcl`cl -
st.
Magistrate of Howick. d 3 A DI
" It has been proposed that the military should be station` roc.-
Boswell's village instead of Denholm, which was formerly
the Sheriff. for t"8
order' d there
" request, therefore, that your Lordship will issue
troop of cavalry to proceed from Earlstun to St. BosWeirs, afj:ans °lc
wait for any orders which the commanding officer may receive
Sheriff or the Chief Magistrate of Hawick.—l am, Sze.
„, ft It A ere
" August 1, 1838."
He bad already stated that he received that letterjOti aNt aAvter7P-.'3-rslYlaPt°edu. ;4
the Ist of August. He observed that his answer to it Ws-
-3 st ni
seven o'clock the same morning. It was in these terms:t. the - I
" SIR,—I have had the honour of receiving your letter be, b. 3,/
July, and the minute of a meeting held at Hawick by you at, the C
jesty's Justices or the Peace for the District of Hawick, wit
Magistrates and certain inhabitants of the town of Hawick"ul oth°
ofe
" I approve of the minute which you have sent Ine, ria wick
you to devolve the responsibility of keeping the peace of il.".tary sh
Magistrates of that town, as there proposed, and that the luta of
be stationed at St. Boswell's instead of Denhohn. , Vaunt ttehil,ae
I beg to acknowledge that I have also received yourS ity
the 29th of July, and the papers you refer to. Some oPseropporttwo,
occurred to with regard to them, but I wish to have
lan then ret,
of considering those papers more attentively', and IA
-11.,TittlAI"
them to you.— I remain, &c., " JOHN
" Aug. 1, 1837, Sevesn'o'clock,
id
Now he asked in what part of those argangements there was anneYe cer'
for a charge of partiality?—(Cheers.) In the first i 115"... espress_ta
tainly felt very great apprehension from the desire which wa_7,tve alatse
to have the presence of military in the county ;
that the PresePheau.ceer
from the circumstance of its being considered
military would be the best means of establishing tranquillitY_;_nearan,
from all his experience of such matters he believed that thocar_tid nos
he felt ss_ce of tn
of the soldiery at elections was the surest source of outra,a
ca'uriertetdo
chief.—(Hear, hear.) Was he wrong, therefore, in giving, are enterIlt,
the sheriff and to the magistrates. The Lord Advocate, here
into further details respecting his caution to the
c. aViniii
Right Honourable 'Friend had brought forward a rg
hitssha°,s
him ; let him pursue it to the utmost—(Cheers)—
ine:„ (the ;ie
upon what foundation they rested.—(Cheers.) At prese a
aa that
et.
Advocate) could not see the shadow of a pretence for the ch tls'
rartY fe
had been guilty of partiality, or that he had been influenced by Yrn chat
ing.—(Loud cheering.) It was a recognised constitutional > greate':
needless introduction of the tnilitary at elections was one
troduction frequently produced riots, and knowing all t hiso,ughwt r
have felt himself justified in consenting to their being
l!r that he
breaches of the Constitution, ; it was further well known tli:t±hfotieriiiailodt,
under the circumstances. Be would, in fact, have conceivediLin
_n are: e
acting most unwarrantably if he had not resisted it. He s,
ld
esteemed himself highly culpable. But the Hon. Gent
re
of o „pa
meta made; he had as:Matted to it, and if he had not,
iheinsan...t°l:i:d..,...as,
tacked
mittee him
Would he have act upon at_othier poied a manly part if he had nt. (11
or 3rtY
nt : he had become a Membe bear!,
.
hear.) If there had, been the smallest party feeling in his mind,