The Sun.
London, England, 1840-01-25 00:00:00

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH, J. 24.
ATTACHMENT AGAINST THE SERGEANT AT ARMS,
At tile rising of the Court,

Mr. RICHAPDS applied to their Lordships for an
attachment against Sir William Gossett, on the ground
of disobedience to a writ of habeas corpus, which
was served last evening, and returnable imme-
diately, commanding him to bring into Court
the bodies of the Sheriffs of Middlesex who were in his
custody, under the warrant of the Speaker of the House
of Commons, and to which he had made no return.

Lord DENMAN said the Court could not suppose
that a return would not be made, and that there was
no sufficient ground to issue an attachment.

Mr. RICICARDS begged to remind their Lordships
that unless they did so the Sheriffs must remain in
custody two days longer, and that an act of wilful dis-
obedience had been committed, the writ being return-
able immediately. One of those gentlemen, too, was
suffering under very indifferent health.

.•
Lord DENMAN said the Cuurt could not depart from
what it thought reasonable.

Mr. RiciiAnDs—My Lords, I have nothhi,g more
.0 say.

SOUTHWARK ELECTION.

DECLARATION OF THE POLL-RETURN OF

MR. WOOD.
(Continued from our Paper of yesterday.)
Mr. ELLis came forward to address the meeting on be-
half of Mr. Walter, in the absence of that gentleman. He
was received with partial cheers, mingled with groans
and hisses, which, during his speech, were never, for
a moment, interrupted. He said that he regretted the
result of the late contest. He had no hesitation
in saying that Mr. Walter should have been returned. The
promises, however, made to Mr. Wood had been realized,
and be was the successful candidate. His acquaintance
with Mr. Walter had commenced within the last seven
days; but be had no difficulty in saying that he was a
man of integrity and ability, who was unfettered by any at-
tachment to the interests of party. He was sorry, on these
accounts, that Mr. Walter was not their representative_

(Great uproar)—and that the election had turned out as it
had done. He had the greatest respect for Mr. Wood
privately, but to his politics he was totally opposed.—
(Uproar.) He was in hope that the Borough would have
sent to Parliament some one who would have voted against
the tail of the Whigs. lie begged leave to say that Mr.
Walter could not be blamed for going to the poll after the
statements which had been made to him, and which,
he would say, should not have been made. He thought
that Mr. Walter had been most grossly—most shamefully—
deceived—( Great uproar)—both by friends and foes. He
would allow, however, that the fight had been a fair one,
as far as Mr. Wood had been concerned, and he would not,
for his part, be concerned in any thing that could lead
to riot or excitement. He would now willingly
hope that when their candidate got into Parlia-
ment h would act independently of party, and he
believed that Mr. Wood was actuated by a proper feeling
for the poor. He thought that we were now arrived at a
dangerous crisis, and that the present Government were by
no means equal to the emergency. He did not believe that
they had carried out the Reform Bill ; and he was of opinion
they were of much more benefit to the rich than to the poor.
(Here a dog was carried through the crowd with its head
in a bag, amidst loud cries of " Boxer, Boxer.") He thought
that the present was an awful period, and that the Whigs
were deceiving the country. They should have foreseen the
present scarcity of corn in the country, and the sufferings
of the manufacturing districts—they should have fore-
seen these evils, and provided for them. By not
doing so they had shown their incapacity, He believed
Mr. Wood must know those things, and that he had a
proper feeling for the poor. He hoped that he would con-
sider, when in Parliament, the real interests of the country,
and not those of a faction.

Mr. CURLING next came forward and was much cheered.
He said it would ill become him at that late stage of the
proceedings, furthe.r than might be necessary, to ex-
press the gratification with which he contemplated
the result of the past election. It could not
be expected that he should take that opportunity of
entering at any length into the motives which had in-
duced him to retire so early as he had done
from the contest. To his friends and to the friends of inde-
dendence no other explanation would be necessary, save
the result of the poll; and as to his enemies, he. felt that
no explanation would be sufficient for them. His own
conscience, however, told him that he had done his duty.
He adhered strictly to the determination with which he had
set out. He had come forward for the purpose of asserting
the independence of the people, and he would assert it
whenever the opportunity might allow. He had through-
cut adhered to that principle ; he had adhered to it at
the hustings as well as at a later period. It was not till he
found that he should be sacrificing their independence, and
that there was a probability of a Tory cominz in, that he
considered he was bound, as an honourable man, to resign
the contest (Cheers, hisses, and great confusion.)
This might not, he was aware, be acceptable to a.l
parties—( Hear, hear)—yet with a view to remove
any doubts from the minds of those who were the op-
ponents of freedom, and who were disposed to ques-
tion his motives, he should tell them candidly that
he acted as ho had done for the purpose of bring-
ing in Mr. Wood. Let the Tory Press say what it
might, that was his object, and in endeavouring to effect
it he had left nothing undone. He would•now congratu-
late them on the result of their election. It would
set a useful example to those constituencies who
were now on the point of electing Represen-
tatives. He rejoiced at it, too, because it would
tell the Tories of the Borough of Southwark what their
strength was, and lie thought that it would teach them
that they had but very little chance Of representing;Southwark. Another reason for his congratulating them
was this—that Mr. Walter had come forward as the
enemy of the Poor-law Bill, and, if he had suc-
ceeded, it would be said that the electors would
to be opposed that measure.—( Hear, hear.) He believed
that those who imagined that the sense of the country was
against that Bill, would now find that they had been mis-
taken, and that popular feeling was in its favour.—( Cheers
and hisses. ) Mr. Walter had principally relied on his hosti-
lity to the new Poor-law. He had made that his stalking-
boric, and yet he had failed. He (Mr. Curling) hoped
that the columns of the Times would henceforward be
filled with matter more useful to its readers than
letters against the new Poor-la w.---( A laugh.) It was
said that the letters which had appeared on that subject
with the signature of Mr. Day, were, in reality, the pro-
ductions of Lord Stanhope or of Mr. Oaseler.
(" No, no I" from Mr. Day, who said that was a lie,
and groat uproar.) He ( Mr. Curling) rejoiced
at the result of the late election, on other grounds besides