The Sun.
London, England, 1841-07-12 00:00:00

BANBURY.

;PUBLIC FESTIVAL IN HONOUR OF :HR. H.

VINCENT.
On It v thie 7th inst., a public tea parry Was
held in Mr. B. Austin g .t*io,us malthouse, when, no ft.
withstanding the unfavourable S*6o of the weather,
nearly 800 ladies and gentlemen were intssent to lay a
tribute of gratitude to their able and uncotnproinising
adcoeatt, Mr, H. Vincent. The nom was splendidly
illuminated and Iftirtifelly decorated, some hundreds of
paintings, &c., having been kindly lent and a great pro- 1
fusion of flowers supplied for the occasion.
Mr. Coleman was called to the chair, and after the
tea 'lll.l concluded, Mr. J. Osborn, moved that the follow-
ing address be presented to Mr. H. Vincent, which was
seconded in a very able speech by the Rev. J. Clarke,
and unanimously adopted by the meeting
" Mr. H. Vincent,
" Sir,—The Electors of Banbury, Nelthrop, and the
Hamlets, take the earliest opportunity of congratulating
you on the honourable position you maintained at the
poll during the late severely contested election, and
when we look at the number of respectable, intelligent,
and honourable individuals who recorded their votes in
your favour, we cannot but look at the defeat, if it can
be so called, but as a preface to the certainty that awaits
you of your being most honourably returned as the Re-
presentative for Banbury, when we again have the
honour of accompanying you to the poll. On looking
at the variety of circumstances that have at this time
operated against you—the comparative few who
knew you, or the principles you have so nobly
and honourably advocated—and the prejudices, that
have now for ever vanished, that once clouded the
minds of some of the electors of Banbury, we
hail your minority a triumph, and your defeat a
victory. The clouds that appeared in the political
horizon when you entered the independent town of
Banbury as a candidate for our suffrages, have for ever
disappeared, and the glorious sun of political freedom
has arisen in the power and splendour of his majesty,
and has sent the mighty rays of' democratic govern-
ment amongst us ; based upon the only true founda-
tion, the Political Rights of the People.
"In congratulating you on the noble stand you have
made on democratic principles, and the philanthropic
zeal with which you have so nobly advocated those
mighty principles in Banbury, we point you to the
people's House of Commons,—thither will we send you
—to wield your powerful talents, and your sterling in-
tegrity in the ever-glorious cause of democratic liberty.
"We beg to thank you most sincerely for coming
amongst us as a candidate for our suffrages—for the
great moral principles you have so talentedly dissemi-
nated amongst us—for your honourable and gentle-
manly conduct during your canvass, at the hustings, and
at the poll—and the noble feelings that actuated you
to enforce upon the minds of the assembled thousands
the propriety of preserving the peace ; and we beg to
bear our testimony, in conjunction with every inhabitant
of Banbury, to the perfect tranquillity of the town
during the election, attributed by parties of different
political opinions to the influence your very powerful
appeal has had upon the minds of the people, to keep
sober, and receive an insult in good humour rather

. .
than resent it.
"In conclusion, we beg to request that when another
opportunity offers, you will again come amongst us to
solicit our suffrages, and we have no doubt but we shall
be able to place you at the head of the poll."
Mr. VINCtNT then addressed the party in a speech of
nearly two hours' duration, of which the following is a
,rief report :
Whatever my feelings were during the contest, they
are nothing compared with my feelings on the present
occasion. I feel it pride that though the greet flag was
smitten down, my friends have not deserted it. I feel I
am not worthy of the respect you show me. I hope you
are not come to congratulate me only ; but - that you
look further—to God and to our cause. This shall go
on until every slave shall be made free, untii the dis-
tressed
are made happy. I have drawn the public mind
to the great principles we advocate. If you feel any at-
tachment to me for the part I have taken in this contest,
let us reciprocate this feeling. Though driven back from
the poll, yet we have obtained a victory. Was it nothing
to see the great mass of the people—artizans, mechanics,
ladies, all ranged on our side ? Every man, woniaii,
and child, prayed for my success. We have achieved a
victory which has put fresh spirit into the Radicals. By
whatever r a ne we are called, our principles are the same.
We hold that every man shall be prepared for those great
national privileges which God has intended him to enjoy.
Look at our country—at that part of her population who
have fought and toiled for her good. Are they treated
as they ought to be ? What are the principles upon
which good government is founded ? The first princi-
ples of government are to promote the happiness of so-
ciety, to protect the unprotected, to relieve the distressed.
The proudest spirit which could actuate the ancient Ba-
ron was, to take care of the poor—to take care of the
,erfs. And he was then accounted the best man who
performed this duty best, who rendered the hearthstone
,if the cottage as secure as that of the palace. There is
i mass of misery existing in this country which few are
mare of. Few Christians are aware of this : were they
they would, as one noble army, come forward and at-
,empt to alleviate it. The duty of Government is to pro-
vide not only for the temporal, but for the spiritual wants
of the community. The great body of the people—the la-
•iourer, the tradesman—are borne down by the character
of the times. The plague is abroad ; and every one
Knows the plague must go on, unless arrested by a power
greater than that which produced it. Is it not much more
lifficult to obtain employment now than it once was ? Is
, is not more difficult now to make payments good? Every
me must bear testimony to the fact, that things are get-
,,ing worse and worse. The Conservative says " things
ire wrong; we want a Tory Government to make them
letter; we want a good war." A good war! we want no
war, we want peace and plenty. Our sufferings have
been occasioned by war. 'The Whig says you ate right;
this country is in a bad condition. I say to him, then,
1 " You have been in power, but you have not bettered this
condition." He is obliged to acknowledge this, but
pleads many excuses. Sometimes the King opposed hin:,
And he durst not take a step in opposition to his sovereign
will. But when they had the Queen and her Chambermaids
with them, they did nothing. Whig and Tory are alike,
both are interested in keeping things as they are. The
man who advocates liberty when out, how different is he
when he gets into the House of Commons. You should
' endeavour to understand the meaning of party. The
Radical party is as prejudicial to your interests as the
Tory, unless prepared to give you your share in the re- ,
presentation of the country. I wish to upset all attach-
ment to party, and to endeavour to form one great party,
founded on the principles of justice, of universal intelli-
g nce. Let us cast off the swaddling-clothes of political
babyhood, and stand forth as men to advocate those
principles. If Lord John Russell, Sir Robert Peel, or
sir. Tancred advocate those principles, I will give either
of them my most cordial support. What are our princi-
ples? A Radical is a man who wishes the government of
the country conducted upon the best principles possible.
He advocates cheap government, a government which
shall protect every man in the exercise of mental and
bodily labour. and throw especially the shield of its pro-
tection over the worn-out part of the community, and
make their deaths as easy and happy as possible. The
Radical reads in his Bible that God made of one blood
all the nations of the earth; he believes, therefore, that
the prince and the peasant are alike equal in the sight of
God. Reasoning on these principles, the Radical can-
not see why a few Peers should govern this great
nation, or that a few thousands should govern thirty
millions. He asks—how, in every age and country,
have the few exercised the power ? And whether he
looks to this country, to Sparta, or to Rome, he finds
that the' few have used the power they possessed
against the interests of the many. They. have ever been
reluctant to concede to the people their rights. If they
have sought the interests of the people, it has generally
been when they have been seeking their own. During
the reign of John,
_ the Barons said to the serfs, Let us
take prerogative by the beard--they took prerogative
by the beard, and shook from his callous heart in the
field of Runnymede that Charta which is the base, the
framework of all. our great national privileges. Lord
Grey conceded the Reform Bill. You are told that that
measure is a final measure. Final ! in that which must
continue to progress ! How atrociously absurd ! What
are you promised by the Whigs now ? Cheap bread
and cheap sugar. Why do they come forward and pro-
mise you this ? Because they feel that they have not a
peg on which to hang their political hat. So they put
in these two pegs, and label one of them "Cheap bread,"
and the other " Cheap sugar," thinking thus to have a
Ipeg to hang their hats on ; but they are shocking bad
hats after all. Our principles are these—Justice for all,
injustice for none ; happiness for the labourer, the ar-
tizan, the shopkeeper. I feel that the spirit of Radi-
calism must be understood, and its principles triumph.
What I have stated to you is true. If there are any.who
ithink they can refute me, they are at liberty to come
forward. If they cannot refute me, let them cast away all
doubt and prejudice, and lend me their aid.;

On Saturday morning last, as Mr. James
Groves, a market gardener from Pinvin, was proceeding down
Red-hill, on the London-road, with a cart load of vegetables
and fruit, the back chain broke, which caused the shafts of the
cart to fall considerably, and the horse took fright and started
off at full speed towards Worcester, which threw poor Groves
from the fore part of the cart where he was sitting. It appears
he held by the cart fur two or three seconds, when he was seen
to fall head first, and, the wheel passing over his head, he died
instantly. An inquest was held on the body the same day at
the Carpenter's Arms, and a verdict of " Accidental Death'
returned. Groves was a very steady man, thirty-eight years o
age, and has left a wife and one child.
AWFUL OCCURRENCE. —On Monday the sth
instant, the little village of Hooke, near Goole, was thrown
into great consternation in consequence of a report having
spread about that the wife of a sailor, named Richard Penni-
son, had killed herself. Numbers of persons immediately went
to the house. and found the woman lying dead. A little girl,
daughter of the deceased, stated that .her father was at Goole,
and had gone thither for wages, and her mother had tried to
hang herself, but did not succeed. She then took a. fork and
stuck it into her throat. No reason, at present, can be assigned
for the rash act. The poor woman has left two infant tu ins.—
Hull Advertiser.
A HANGMAN THAT WOULDN'T WORK.-....
The following odd dialogue appears in the Paris journal called
L' Audience, and professes to be a report of a proceeding be-•
fore a Correctional Police Court at Stockholm :---Charles
T--, an executioner, was brought before the Tribunal on
a charge of failing to perform his duty. President--You re-
fused to perform your duty, it. appears. Defendant-- Oui, mon
magistrat ; I found it impossible. President—lf you had any
repugnance to the performance of your duty, you should have
obtained assistance. Defendant—l. did not prepare la toilette
du condamne myself. Aly assistant Peter shaved him in the
prison and prepared him for the scaffold. I had not seen him
until the morning of the execution. President—And it was
then you refused to perform your duty? Defendant— 0 ui,
monsieur. President—Well, this caused a delay of two hours :
your assistant did not hang the prisoner until twelve o'clock.
What I.ave you to say in sour justification ? Defendant—One
single sentence. President—Well, explain yourself. Defend-
ant—The prisoner was my own son.—(Laughter.) The Tri-
bunal, moved by this extraordinary_ explanation, at .once dis-
- missed the executioner.