The Sun.
London, England, 1831-05-04 00:00:00

COVENTRY, MAY 3.

(FROM OUR cOItREsrONDENT.)
Mr. Fyler perseveres in keeping open the poll, although
he has brought up but sixty-one votes during the whole
day. He and all his friends are convinced of the utter
impossibility of winning; but it seems he wishes to luxu-
riate a little longer in the pleasures of revenge. At the
close to-day the numbers were—for Ellice, 1658 ; Bulwer
1560; and Fyler 1100; and the latter gentleman has ex-
pressed his intention to go again to the booth in the morn-
ing. Preparations are being made for the chairing of
Messrs. Ellice and Bulwer, which it is hoped will take
place on Thursday.

MALISIEsBURY ELECTION.

(FROM A CORRESPONDENT.

The Malmesbury election took place on Monday, the
2d inst. when such a scene was presented as scarcely ever
before occurred on a similar or any other occasion. Mr.
Pitt, who has for so long a period nomin ited the repre-
sentatives to the borough, proposed to the worthy and
independent burgess elector, the re-election of their old*
tried, faithful, and honest servant Sir Charles Forbes,
whose absence on the occasion he regretted, and the more
so on account of its arising from ill he ilth. He also pro •
posed for their re-election their other late representative,
Mr. John Forbes.—(Cries of " who is he; is he ill
too? Why is he not here? They were at Eastcourt, and
well enough, on Friday.") After waiting some time in
vain for some gentleman to second the nomination of Sir
Charles and his son, Mr. Partridge rose, and in a mast
able and eloquent speech proposed G. Poulet Scrope, Esq.
of Castle Comte., as a fit and proper person to represent
the borough in Parliament, assuring the worthy bur-
gesses that he Mr. Scrope, as a near neighbour, a man of
high family connexions, great acquirements, a staunch friend
of the people, loyal to his King, and desirous of serving
his country with the utmost zeal and fidelity, was a
much fitter person for their election than either of the
candidates who had been previously proposed to them, and
that as this would be the last time that they, the Capital
Burgesses would have the exclusive right of electing the
Representatives of the borough to serve in Parliament,
he conjured them to do an act which would make them to
be respected amongst their neighbours, when on a future
occasion they should be engaged with them in exercising
the rights of their elective franchise, instead of being held
up to their derision and contempt. Mr. Partridge was
followed by Captain Bishop, who in a short and neat
speech seconded the nomination of Mr. Scrope. Mr.-
Scrope then came forward, and in one of the most manly,
temperate, and eloquent speeches ever delivered within the
precincts of this borough, offered his serv:ces, and solicited
the suffrages of the worthy Burgesses. But to follow him
through his speech, or give any thing Ilse an adequate re •
port of it, is utterly out of my power, and therefore I
must content myself with referring to those parts of it
which excited the most attention, and called forth the
loudest plaudits. He and his friends had decidedly the
possession of the field, their speeches averts heard, and they
were most loudly and rapturously applauded, whilst the
remarks of the opposite party w, re followed by hisses and
groans, most dismal to bear. He (Mr. S.) began by ex-
plaining the Reform called for by his Majesty's Ministers
and the friends of the people, and sanctioned by the
King himself, and in allusion to the assertion of those
opposed to the measure, that the fill brought in by the
Ministers, if enacted into a law, would be subversive of
our glorious Constitution in church and state, beautifully
demonstrated that the effect would be quite the contrary;
that the people would be fairly represented in their own
House, and by such men as would introduce laws calcu-
lated to uphold the digniSy of the Crown and the just
rights of all his Majesty's subjects ; that the Noble Peers
of the realm for having given their sanction to such a re-
presentation would live in the hearts of the people, and
enjoy the rights and privileges of their own House without
jealousy and suspicion, and that the crown would be more
firmly rivetted on the head of his Majesty than ever; and,
with respect to the church, he asked them, if they could
suppose for a moment that it was founded on rotten bo-
roughs. He begged to assure them that our religion
wanted no such support, and that the just rights of the
church would never be invaded by such men as would
he sent to the House of Commons under the new mea-
sure of Reform, and in speaking of the church with refer-
ence to the Reform Bill he begged to §,sk them, if they
were not aware that our religion itself was a Reformed
religion, and that hut for such a Reform Malmesbury
Abbey would be still in its primitive glory, and they
would be going to mass ; and that no sounder objection
could be made to the reforming of the representation of
the people when found necessay than existed with respect
to the Church, when a reform of our religion was found
necessary. He next drew their attention more particularly
to close boroughs, and the distinction to be drawn between
the boroughowners and the borougbmongers. The bo-
roughowner he would describe as the man desirous of ex-
ercising his right of nomination in sending to the House
of Commons men of intelligence, and desirous of pro-
motiog the good of their country, and who now, when he
finds the voices of the King and the people against the
system, readily comes forward and surrenders all such
advantages for the good of his fellow subjects, as a great
many Noble Peers and Commoners (whom he named) had
done. The boroughmonger, on the contrary, he would
look on as the man who would treat his right of nomina-
tion as his stock in trade, and who now, to the last mo-
ment, would cleave to the system to put money into his
Own pocket, and though.he could never expect another op-
portunity, after the present of doing so, still he would
endeavour to grasp the last penny to be got by
such a farce as they were then witnessing. At this
moment the Honourable Candidate was interrupted by
an observation from an official gentleman, who said
that Mr. Scrope could not proceed without a
prompter. This called forth Mr. Partridge, who in a
most spirited way retorted, that if he possessed the ability
of prompting Mr. Scrope, he should feel proud in doing
so in such a cause and upon such an occasion ; but he was
bound to admit that he had it not in his power, and added,
that Mr. Scrope possessed much higher talents than either
himself or the gentleman who had made the observation.
Mr. Scrope resumed, still with temper and good humour,
and briefly answered the interruption by observing, that
he was at the time describing the passing scene as a farce,
and jocosely asked them if they bad ever seen a farce
without a prompter? But he trusted, he said, that the
scene would not end like a farce, but that they would now
at least deliver their votes conscientiously, and let it be
said that they had done an honest act for once in their lives.
He then reminded them that the Members now to be re-
turned would in all probability enjoy their seats but for a
very short period, perhaps not above six weeks or two
months, which would put an end for ever to their return-
ing Members to Parliament, and that the present would
be the only opportunity they would have of redeeming
their characters ; and he begged most seriously to im-
press upon their minds, that before giving their votes
they would have individually to take the oath against
bribery anti corruption. It was an awful ceremony, and
he trusted they would not take the name of their God in
.vaio ; he could not help observing, from their venerable
appearances, that many of them appeased to have but a
short time to live, and that all of them must at no distant
period appear before their Creator to answer for their
deeds, and he earnestly hoped and trusted that they would
not have to add to the lists of their crimes the commission
of perjury that day ; he should leave his case in their
hands, and if they thought fit to send him to the House
of Commons they should find him at his post zealously
discharging his duties for the good of the country at large.
The bribery oath was then administered to the burgesses
individually (an awful ceremony), and the poll imme-
diately commenced. The scene of polling was truly ludi-
crous;
one of the burgesses voted for Charles Hobbs, and
John Hobbs, and another Sir Charles Fords, and Sir John
Fords (the latter repeated by the burgess three times over
at the request of Mr. Partridge, who protested against
any prompting), and several others made similar blunders
• •
in giving their votes ; but at length it appeared that a
majority had pronounced the names correctly, and Sir
'Caries Forbes and his son were:declared duly elected. Mr.
Scrope
was then about to address the electors, but was re-
fused a bearing by the persons in authority, who abruptly
adjourned the Court. The shouts of the multitude now
become •
roost deafening, cries of "Scrope for ever—he shall
speak—he shall be heard—we will have him next time.—
i 0 Forbes for us—down with the Forbes's—come forward
Mr. Scrope next time, and we will support you," Sze. Yee.
Scrope was accompanied to the Inn by several
respectable gentlemen of the town, and followed by a mul_
the inhabitants cheering him as they went. In
the evening
the town was all alive, upwards of 500 per-
sonsparaded the streets with effigies of the elected Mem-
btietrusd;e 0f
the one representing Sir Charles Forbes, having a
label suspended from the neck with the words, " 0 Lord,
I do deserve it ;" and the other representing his son, a
similar label, with the words " 0 Lord, what shall l
do ?"and these representatives of the Members, after beingparaded through the streets, and flogged for a considerable
time, were publicly burnt in the principal street of the

borough.
A FREEHOLDER OF MALMESBURY,

SANDWICH, 11141

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

Mr. Grant, of Margate, continues to apprise the
Editor, that Sir T. Trowbridge has again triumphantly
beaten (Price) the agent for corruption, by triple the
number of yesterday. Balance against boroughtnongels
63 this day ! Details at bottom. Mr. Marryatt is phut),
out of all question, safe at the head of the poll.
At four o'clock this day, a gentleman wished to announce
in the Town Hall, that up to the Ist of May the grand
total of new Members returned are 69, viz.—

, -
For Reform 4B
Against it 2l
Majority
but out of said 21 against, 16 are from rotten boroughs,
and five from places affected by the Reform Bill, from a
printed paper jut from London ! You will be astonished
to hear (to the disgrace of Sandwich) lie was, for thi4
offence to the borough, turned out of the Hail ! How dif-
ferent the conduct of Dover and Canterbury!! J. G.

ROMSEY, MAY 3.

(FROM A CORRESPONDENT.)
Sir James Macdonald made a public, and it might b
said, a triumphal entry into this town to-day; at the
entrance of it he was met by 200 persons on horseback,
and an immense number of pedestrians, who, preceded by
two bands of music and flying odours, escorted him to the
town, amidst the almost deafening shouts of the people.
In short, nothing can describe the enthusiasm di:-played in
this town to-day. All the windows were filled by ladies,
who, by the waiving of handkerchiefs, testified that they
themselves were reformers. The rich and poor, the high and
low, were all blended together to expre-s that one universal
feeling in favour of %farm, which must have terrified the
stoutest heart of a baroughmonger. On his arriving at
the White Horse Sir James addressed the crowd to a
considerable length, in which he said that he had no doubt
but that Hampshire would deliver itself from the tyranny
of the beroughmongers, and establish its ancient indepen-
dence. After cheers being given for the King, Sir James,
and the Ministers, the crowd soon dispersed.