The Sun.
London, England, 1840-11-13 00:00:00

ELECTION OF LORD PROVOST

(From the Scotsman of Nov. 11..)

A very large space of our paper to-day is devoted to
proceedings connected with our Municipal Elections,
which for some weeks past have excited an unexampled
interest in this city.
Sir James Forrest has carried his point. He is re-
elected Provost, and may boast of achieving the ho-
nour by means such as never were employed before,
and, very probably, never will be again. He owes
it to votes got by begging from door to door ; he
owes it to pledges given in a moment of thought-
lessness, and redeemed at the expense of the
pledgers' principles ; he owes it to the support
of the Tories, who have hitherto vilified him, and
who, in this instance, have made a tool of him, with-
out pretending to have in any respect changed
their opinion of his conduct or character. He must be
strangely constituted, if he feels comfort in his success.
He knows that as Provost he does not represent the
citizens of Edinburgh ; he represents the malice and
depravity of the Tories, and the weakness or treachery
of a few Non-Intrusion Liberals. His appearance
yesterday at the Council Board almost excited the pity
of the friends he has deserted ; certainly there was not a
man of any party present who envied him, or who would
not have infinitely preferred Mr. Black's situation to his.
The Lord Provost has one comfort—that he does not
stand alone in his backsliding. To the surprise of the
whole town. Mr. Aitken, Dean of Guild, an old, and, as
it was thought, staunch Reformer, has gone over to the
Non-Intrusion and Tor) enemies ofthe Liberal cause. We
say gone over, for it is needless to diguise the matter. It
he had not made up his mind to change sides, he would
not have incurred the odium of acting as he has done.
Mr. Aitken says he still adheres to the Liberal prin-
ciples he has ever professed and acted upon ; and, in
evidence of his sincerity, we suppose, he declares that
the leader of the Tories shall have his first vote for
the Provostahip ; and that he will rather swallow the
bitter pill" of Sir James Forrest, than take the man
who was his fellow-labourer in the cause of Burgh and
Parliamentary Reform, and who enjoys the confidence
of the whole Liberal party. Truly, truly, this is
pitiable' A short time ago, if twenty men had sworn
to us that Samuel Aitken was capable of acting such a
part, we would have held it to be a foul libel upon him.
His whole conduct, in reference to the election to
the Guildry chair, has an ugly aspect. Had he spoken
out, as an honest man should have done, and told that
he meant to give the vote which he has actually given,
Mr. Millar would have continued a candidate, Mr.
Aitken would have been ousted, and Mr. Drysdale, or
Sir James Forrest would have lost a vote. Mr. Black
is not a Dissenter of yesterday, and the " civil points"
must have been as well known months ago as at this
day. But by concealing his intentions, and leaving the
Liberal party to infer that he would act in accordance
with his peat conduct, he got himself returned, and then
the mask is dropped. Mr. Jamieson and Mr. George
Brown hare also played a singular part is this affair.
They saw Mr. Aitken's character as a public man
seriously implicated by the published correspond-
ence, and they advised his friends to do—what ?
to come forward and defend him ?—no, to absent
themselves ! The mystery is easily solved. They
knew that Mr. Aitken's conduct was such that few
would defend it. They foresaw that a division would
show how completely the Dean's sentiments were dis-
owned by the Guildry ; and they kindly penned an
advertisement, dissuading those from going to the
meeting who never meant to attend it—that the ex-
treme paucity of the Dean's supporters might not be
known, This officious proceeding did not serve its pur-
pose. The meeting was well attended ; and its resolu-
tions fairly express the sentiments of the Guildry.
The composition of the opposing parties is at once cu-
rious and instructive. The Liberals pledged to support
Mr. Black, and composed of Churchmen and Dissenters
in nearly equal proportions, amounted to fifteen, of
em e n o
t t
whom one (Mr. Johnston), by some kind of unexplained
twashe
Non-Intrusioninduced not t o
Whigvote party The
strengthm anag
supported Sir James Forrest, after all their exer-
tions, was represented by only four votes, including his
own. These were Councillors Dobson, Duncan, and
iMelville, Two Whigs opposed to the Non-Intrusion
party Councillors M'Aulay and Dalvell likewise
gave him their support, on what • '
princip e they have
failed to explain ; and it is quite certain that both of
them will be deserted by the Liberal constituency on
of their votes on this occasion
account . Two Conserva-
tives—Councillors NV hyte and Russell —who are Non-
lntrusionists, voted for Sir James Forrest on account of
his Non-Intrusion principles ; thus making the total i
number of the motley group who supported him, in pro.