The Sun.
London, England, 1840-03-12 00:00:00

LEWES ELECTION.

We stated in our last that up to Tuesday night no
candidate in the Liberal interest had made his appear-
ance in this borough, although since a very early
hour on the previous Monday Lord Cantilupe and
his partisans had been most actively employed
among the electors. Various rumours went abroad
with regard to the reason for this delay. On Mon-
day Mr. Brand was reported to be in Hertfordshire, on
Tuesday, it was said that he was in York, and as night
,:ame on and no candidate uppeared, it was even whis-
pered that he was "over. the border." The plain Eng-
lish of all this is, that the leaders of the Whig party had
been fast asleep—dreaming, dozing in fancied security,
while Lord Cantilupe (who lives we believe, within a door
or two of Sir Charles Blunt's town residence) was
anxiously counting the minutes till the time arrived that
he could announce a " vacancy in the borough occa-
sioned by the sudden death of Sir Charles Runt,"—
which he did in the most hasty manner possible, not
wen giving himself time to express the slightest regret
at the decease of the Hon. Baronet. We are credibly in-
formed that the Tories held a kind of select vestry at the
White Hart on Sunday evening, but a few hours after Sir
Charles had breathed his last ; while, on the other hand,
it appears that Sir Charles Blunt's own agent was not
aware of the fact of his death until eight or nine o'clock
an Monday morning, and no steps were taken to get a
Committee together until twelve o'clock on that day ;
and then it was a question whose committee it should be
idled. It was misnamed after all. On Monday morning
the Liberals had to begin to hunt for a candidate; and of
course they waited first upon Gen. Trevor at Glynde, to
ascertain whether his son, Mr. Brand, would "come to
the scratch." In quest of him the General went,
and was absent in London or elsewhere til! Tuesday
light, when he arrived at Lewes, and it was
round that Mr. Brand, being wanted for anGther
constituency, who were `44e enough to have a can-
hdate ready in t :Ise of z.'n emergen-y, cupid not conic
'sere; and, in consequence, the General—sooner
than make it a blank day offered himsel:.
Open houses, drunkenness, end brawling, the usual con-
•omitants of a contested election, prevailed during every
evening in the week. The canvassing was proceeded
with by both parties actively ; but nothing occurred
if particular importance until twelve o'clock on &1.-
..117.day night, when a note from General Trevor an.,
iouncing his retirement was received by Lord Cantilupe.
Those Liberals who had been buoyed up by the flattering
representations of agents and runners were of course
exceedingly chagrined when the fact became public the
next morning ; but to those who knew anything of the
state of the borough, this result, or at all events, defeat
in some shape or. other, must have been fully antici-
pated. The delay occasioned by the unprepared
state in which the Whigs were caught doubt-
less contributed to the defeat ; but it was not
the main cause. In the present state of the
constituency a contest was a mere waste of
noney. The borough was lost at Easthope's election ;
and the distance lost then, instead of being lessened,
has been increased. Persons who are interested in an
election, who make money by it, are always ready to
flatter alike the hopes of candidates and electors ; but.
until they can show us in black and white where they
rake up the twenty-three majority by which (in
a single election), Mr. Fitzroy beat Mr. Easthope,
we shall retain our present opinion. Ever since that
ime the heads of the Tories have been unceas-
ing in their endeavours -to cherish and cement their in-
terest in the borough. In matters of trade and in the
interchange of friendly offices they have given the pre-
ference to those who supported them politically ; while
the Whigs have pursued a totally different course. The
su!t has been (as might naturally be expected) that
'ttkeivarmness of which Gen. Trevor in his farewell ad-
dress complains. From the causes which have cork-
tributed to the decline of the Liberal interest in this
borough must not be omitted the fact of an uneducated
preacher here, named Vinall, who has obtained an ex-
traordinary influence over his congregation, having per-
suaded them by setting forth the horrors of " O'Con-
nell and the Pope of Rome,l4to join the most inve-
terate opponents of ministerial policy.—Brighton
Guardian.