The Sun.
London, England, 1841-05-21 00:00:00

ORN !NG El) IT fiiN

MEETING IN MAR YLEBONE.

COMMODORE NAPIER.
A meeting of the electors of the borough of Nlarylebone was
held yesterday at the Yorkshire Stineo, Paddington, to take
measures fir securing the election of the " Hero of Acre" to
represent this borough in Parliament. Long before two
bit lock, the hour appointed for commencing proceedings, the
room, which is calculated to hold 1.500 persons, was completely
filled, and when the time for taking the Chair ai•rived 'the greatest
impatience was manifested. The call of" Chair, chair, time,
time," having become in a few minutes exceedingly loud and
angry, the Committee appeared upon the platform, and one
of them,
.111 r. •Ivrasey, came forward, and said, that by some unac-
countable accident, Mr. Raikes Currie, who was to have taken
the chair, had not arrived, and on that account Mr. Hume—
( Vehement cheering)—would take the chair.—( Renewed and
long continued cheering. )
Mr. HUME, M.P., then came forward, and when the cheer-
io:• with which the Hon. Gentleman was received had sub-
sOed, said, that as the time of every person there present was
valuable, the Committee had thought fit not to wait for the
arrival of the gentleman who had agreed to take the C!.air on
the present occasion ; they were anxious to preeeed to business.
He (Mr. Hume) had come there as a parishioner, not intend-
ing in any way to interfere in the proceedings of the meeting,
further than by offering his most zealous support to Commo-
dore Napier, in the hope that they would have him as their
representative in Parliament. --( Cheers, and cries of " No, no,"
and much confusion, which lasted for some time ) At length
Mr. Hume proceeded—He was in hopes that those who came
there would allow the meeting to proceed orderly. They were
anxious to hear the opinions of every individual in the assembly
who might think fit to pre ent himself on the present occasion.
It was net to be supposed that they could alt be of one opinion ;
but it was right and fair that they should hear the parties who
addressed the meeting, and not by clamour unnecessarily inter-
rupt its proceedings.—( Here some disorder was again occa-
'l"ned by an individual, who was assailed on all _ides by cries of
Turn him out, turn him out.") Mr. Hume went on to say
that those who wished to prevent open discussion, would not be
the friends of freedom, or the best individuals to be represented
in Parliament. He would not make any further observations
than as chairman express a hope that they would support him
while in the chair in his endeavours to preserve order. It
• was
impossible that they could obtain credit for their proceed
at.'iM unless they observed order and decorum. In his cape-
tcif chairman, he would take care that every individual pre-
,tenting himself to the meeting should be heard. Commodore
aapier had offered himself as candidate to represent the borough
of alarylebone in Parliament—( Hear, hear, and cheers)—
and it was unnecessary for him (Mr. Hume) to say more than
that the gallant Commodore's public acts and conduct had
made him as well known to the inhabitants of that borough as
any one who was long resident in it. He (Commodore Na-
Pier) had not yet had an opportunity of addressing the inhabitants
of alarylebone, and he (Mr. Hume) trusted that they would
allow him to introduce the gallant officer to them.—(Cheers. )
Commodore NAPIER here came forward, and was received
with enthusiastic and long-continued cheers; when order
was ssmewhat restored, the gallant Commodore said—
Gentlemen, I can assure you I never experienced
greater pleasure than I do at the present moment in address-
Ar'he so large a portion of the constituency of the borough of
arylebone. I hope von will make some allowance, on ac-
count of my long absence from England, and my consequent
want of acquaintance with passing events, in my address to
Zscni on the present occasion.—( Hear. hear.) I wish to see the
esallot the law of the land.—(Cheers.) I was not the friend
of the Ballot ; but I stood three contested elections, and I saw
it was impossible for Englishmen. under the present system,
to come forward to the poll and do their duty openly as elec.
tors,.(,Loud cheers.) I have, then, thought it high
time to change my mind. Gentlemen, relative to the
extension of suffrage, I will merely observe, that I find
there are thirty-five thousand householders paying a
. 101. rate in this borough, and only 11,500 of those are regis-
tered, and but 8,000 come forward to give their votes ; and
win is this ? not from any unwillingness to assert their rights
as electors, but because they are certain that if they vote
Nainst certain parties, they may ruin their families.
next article I come to is short Parliaments.
0n that topic it is not necessary to say much. When
see how persons change every day from right to left,
I thee
years too long a period to trust any body at all.
Therefore, I will always vote for short Parliaments, whether
they be of three, four, or five years' duration.—(" Oh," and
cries of " One year.") New we come to the greatly agitated
questions of the last week in the House of Commons. The
first is the Corn-laws.—( Hear, hear.) I need not tell you, be-
cause I have done so frequently before, that I am decidedly
°PPosed to the Corn laws. I think they are the most on-
" Me-manlikee-manlike laws that were invented they are bad
for the people because they starve the people, and
they are bad for the merchants. I will tell you an anec-
dote which took place in Egypt about a man who in this coun-
try
is called a great monopoliser, but he is far from it. When
I urged him to put down his monopolies he said, " Yeu your-
selves are monopolisers. I monopolise for the good of my people
to pay my army and my navy for their protection ;
but you do so to put money into the pockets
of the landowner, and to starve the poor people. You are
• therefore worse monopolists than I am." It is unnecessary to
go into:the question of sugar duties. Lord Palmerston has
ellanswered the arguments brought forward by the other party
with respect to the support derivable to slavery from the mea-
sures now proposed. Lord Palmerston told you in his excellent
speech that he had treaties with every Power in Europe, many
of which were already ratified; and that he expected every day
the ratification of treaties with America to establish the right
of search in any vessel employed in the slave trade. That
then is a, complete answer to the question that arose about
encouraging slavery and the slave trade,_ and it is unne-
cessary to say more on the subject. Now we come to
the question of timber duties, which perhaps all of you
do• not sufficiently understand. I understand in London
you are obliged to use Canadian timber in building houses,
and that they are all filled with bugs.—(Loud laughter.)
Canilian timber produces bugs in a most extraordinary
de-
rit and that accounts for what I had never known before.
ut you have not only bugs in the houses, but they are intro-
•dueed into every ship in the navy. Formerly I never saw
Meth a thing as a bug in a man-of.war, but now there is
nkareely a ship without them, and that on account of the Ca-
ttadian timber. I think that Ministers were wrong, so far as
ties taking off more than ss. from the duty on Baltic
mber. A a our ships' spars, instead of being Riga sticks, are now
ode of Canadian timber ; and when a ship is on a lee-shore,
hnatead of having a fire Riga stick, which he can depend upon,
0 has a Canada stick earned away, which can be no very plea-
!ant thing, either fur the officers or her men. The Poor-
-laws are, I understand, extremely well administered in
11,1° parish of Marylebone, therefore I do not see why these
°°r'laws ought to be altered.—(ehrers, mingled with hisses
and (tries of " Explain, explain," with considerable confusion,
'lllicit leas increased by the falling of a table, amidst cries of
Canada timber," and much laughter.) On the restoration of
order the Gallant Commodore said, I believe I am misunderstood
eY• Some gentlemen. When I was alluding to the Poor-laws,
',meant those of the parish of Marylebone, which I under-
. had
are very well aominietered, and therefore I suppose no
• 11°eisaanitegree to be necessary. I will support all
dl.aws their
Marylebone, as they are well admi-
, mine into
absent fro hem,
to the Poor-law generally, being
• rn England two years, I have not had time to exa-
a.c to their ,so that I cannot give you any positive opinion
justice. Before I went abroad, I was a guardian in a
dintlitriet in Hampshire, where the Poor-laws were very well ad-
esuniMe, red ; and I think, that were they not well administered the
heed' with the Poor-law guardians, who do not carry out
fir'
taw. In the district to which I have alluded, all the old
I'rtto-
• - ,410...0s above sixty years of age—husband and wife—were
e44t,ed out-door relief to the amount of 6s. per week.
ea4',ear, and cheers.) Whether we were right or wrong in
ling this out in our district, we, at all events, provided for the
'wort of the poor, and 1 think the same system ought to be
fual.:ught into operation in every union—( A Voice—". Are you
la#,,everY parish administering to its own poor—answer that.")
ollte.,Breat disorder arose, mingled with cries of " Turn 'ern
4, As the confusion continued increasing every moment.
G. A. YOUNG, who was the former candidate in the
• P oGr -law interest for the Borough, came forward to the
1.,0111.6f the platform, and by words, which were inaudible, and
ies and gestures, endeavoured to prevail on the assembly to
deate the tumult, and give a hearing to the gentleman ad-
a ening, therm
sh€)" Air. Young's retiring from the front of the platform,
• 4, uProar Was renewed, with cries of "Go on Commodore ;"
mime won't answer the question ;" " Turn the fellows out"—
ragled with hisses, roars, and cries of o Shame, shame."
a.ieutenant Ackerley stood in the doorway, and contributed not
a
blittle to swell the tumult, by occasionally calling out, in a
VOrian voice, distributed through the] hall by the aid of his
citi°ty Palm applied to his lips—" Agents of the devil—they
autaPort the Poor.laws—answer the question."
1, ir. THOMAS, the barrister, as a friend of Mr. G. A.
a
ng, entreated the supporters of that gentleman, to preserve
order, and to give every one a fair hearing.
A GENTLEMAN on the Platform..--'Why. it is only those
YMI brought here who have refused to hear any one.—Renewed Uproar.)
i rpC°lornodore NAPIER again presented himself ; and, after a
rewed uproar amongst the Youngites for some minutes, which,
-• °ugh the influence of Mr. Young exerted chiefly by ges
!ttires (for his vocal appeals were utterly inaudible) a partial
• ?lice enabled us to catch the following :—Gentlemen, the
that if the public service should require my ab-
, •ance abroad, I shall leave to the electors to decade whether
•- • cni not I should resign my seat.—(Cheers, and a repetition of the
• - ePre'itais tumult; diversified by numerous personal contests,
*al and. fistic, in several parts of the room—in some instances
• eards were fiercely exchanged.)
.hlr; Yourrn (Sir C. Napier having withdrawn) offered him-
. rf to the meeting, and in spite of the deafening din of cheers.
Ise., and hooting, which almost split the roof, persisted fur
aortae minutes in vainly endeavouring to make himself heard.
The CHAIRMAN thought that the best way to compose the
Wteeir
t wg, and to restore order, was to put it to the meeting
e° decide by a sh ivy of hands whether Mr. Young should be
• ".e,ard Or net,—(Cheers.) If it were the wish of the majo-
-1)1:Y to give that gentleman a hearing, the rest would be
und.to accede.—(Cheers.)
•- „ , A shew of hands was taken accordingly, when
said that the numbers were so nearly equal
he could not undertake to decide, and he thought there-
. 'Ortf.that Mr. Young ought to be heard.--(Cheers and alaugh. )
YOussa—(who throughout his address was almost
4i:4lloible, inure from the boisterous altercations of the
PS.rt!?, in the meeting amongst themselves than
••• 1%47' aoyanterruption positively directed against the speaker)—
• tet.'wriderstood to say, that he had thought it his duty to at-
, this meeting in consequence of the decisions of two
ericieties of electors in his favour; and as, at the present
• ineetin
• . g, convened by those whom he regtetted to call his
• TaPorrents, nearly one half of the electors present were his
4371Morters, he did not think that he was bound to retire irons
: aPeroaching contest. He was as anxious for the WC-
, "0f the liberal measures of commercial Policy proposed
• . by the Government as any man could be ; and if the
people had been fully and fairly represented in the House of
uons, those measures could not have been rejected or de-
Sir C. Napier had expressed himself favourable to the
et' aliz'ng
of o,roionpoloedo4l,
ys, thee Nye)
eswnPoor-law.—(Cheers, and
cep
The Gallant Officer had
talnly said that it was the fault of the guardians that the law
was nit well administered.
we could not hear the slightest sound from the Hon. Gentleman
although he seemed to make no ordinary efforts.]
Sir C. Nariea, after considerable exertiun on the part of
the chairman to still the uproar and obtain a hearing fur the
Gallant Officer, was understood to explain that the statement made by Mr. Young as to his
opinion of the Poor-law, was
. totally incorrect. He supposed h e had not been heard rightly.
Af•er some further confusion, a resolution to the effect that
Sir C. Napier was a fit and proper perste' to represent the
borough, and should have the support of the electors present,
Was proposed by Mr. Horsey.
cad seconded the resolution.
• fhwtELL came forward
amiietlst loud cries of
"a- was received with loud cheers.
r. KENSETT then presented himself,
ri Adjourn, adjourn," and great uproar, whicHerendered the
the de_
Kremer part of his speech inaudible.
be
course could be snore impolitic erithwhreeleareidnce
t hh
ata
dot
'lce present situation of the borough, than
ady two reform candidates in the field to come rwbethatei
third.— (Cheers and uproar.) Whatever might
roar. )
eisi.on of that day Mr Young—( Great uproar and confusion
winhatichvdrerownnotcd the' cone.lusion of the sentence. ) Public meet .
The bristecour always decisive of elections.—( Great up
who had the se to pursue was for all to unite and consider
best right to he their representative ?—(Cries of