The Sun.
London, England, 1848-11-27 00:00:00

the navigation-laws?
Sir C. EARDLEY—My answer with regard to that is,
that on the same principle as I think produce ought to
come in free Irons all countries so it ought to come in
the bottoms of the ships of all countries.—(Cheers.)
Mr. CARBUTT—Are you favourable to an early and
considerable extension of the suffrage?
Sir C. EARDLEY—Gentlemen, you expect me to be
honest, I am sure.—(Elear, hear.) It the question is
asked of me—Do you mean universal suffrage P my
friend yonder will not respect rne the less when I say
that I do not mean universal suffrage ; and then if you
ask me what I mean by "early," I say I am ready to
vote on the first dAy that Parliament meets for what
think right. It you ask me what I mean by " consider-
able," allow me to reiterate what I said when I started.
In the abstract, as I am asked the question, I am bound
to tell you, as far as I am concerned, I should be glad
if every ma❑ who turns the key of a house door
should use the same hand in putting a ball into the
balloting box.—(Loud cheers.) lam not afraid of my
fellow-countrymen. I believe that the best security
for the happiness of our country is for it to be built
on the affections of the suffrages of our fellow-
countrymen (Hear, hear) but at the same
time I agree with the sentiment of a man of
whom I am not a great admirer the late Daniel
O'Connell. He said he was willing to accept instal-
ments of what he believed to be right ; and therefore I
think it would be an injury to the popular cause to try
prematurely to obtain that which I feel to be right ;
but I am ready, to-morrow, to vote for what I think to
be best ; and I believe there would be a majority in this
country who would be willing to go for universal suffrage
at once; and I am quite of opinion that the time is come
when the political Parliamentary principle of voting
should be made identical with what is now the munici-
pal system.
In answer to questions from a person in the crowd,
Sir C. EARDLEY said he was not prepared to bring

in an Act of Parliament to take away the property of
the Church of England, so long as matters remained in
their present state.—(" That won't do.") He was not
prepared to say whether he would Tote for Mr. Hume's
motion for extending the suffrage, inasmuch as he had
not had time to look to see how it was worded.

A gentleman in the crowd, who was said to be a
Roman Catholic priest, asked whether the candidate was
prepared to grant the same religious liberty to the Ca-
tholic as was enjoyed by the Church of England and
Dissenters generally 9

Sir C. EAiIDLEY—I am a Dissenter myself, and if there
be any right which I possess, you, as a Roman Catholic,
ought to possess it. It is a very difficult question to
answer in detail, but there may be things which you
believe to be your right, and which I don't.—(" Oh,
oh," laughter, and disapprobation.)
The Gentleman—Will you grant the same measure of
justice to the Catholic as to the Protestant?
Sir C. EARDLET—CIearIy.
The Gentleman--Are you prepared to allow liberty
of conscience to the poor Catholics in our workhouses,
gaols, and penal settlements?
Sir C. EARDLEY—If my interrogator means, will I
contribute out of the public purse to provide chaplains
for those places I will not—(hear.)—but if he means, am I
in favour of him and his brethren having full arid free
access to the Roman Catholics who may be so placed, then
undoubtedly it is one of my first principles that he ought
to have that access.
Mr. J. BARKER, printer, of Wortley, asked the
candidate if he was prepared to vote for universal
suffrage.
Sir C. EARDLET—I do consider that we ought to ap-
proximate to that state of things when every man who
possesses a house should be at liberty to vote for his re-
presentative; but you must allow me to exercise m)
judgment as to the time I think it expedient to propose
it.—C' That's shuffling," and disapprobation.) What-
ever may be the effect of the expression of my opiniou
I shall tell it you frankly, and you must leave me at
liberty to do that which I think best. I believe the
cause of liberty is often much injured by prematurely
mooting questions which we may think right, and I must
tell you that I am not prepared to vote for universal suf-
frage immediately.
Mr. BARKER then addressed the meeting at consider-
able length, and observed that so far as he understood
Sir C. Eardley, he was in favour of approx-
imating to what he believed to be right,
but was not prepared in any one case to vote
for what he believed to be right. At the conclusion
of Mr. Barker's speech ho asked Sir C. Eardley
—l. Whether he was prepared to impose a minimum
tax of ss. per acre on all good land in the kingdom, cul-
tivated or uncultivated? 2. Whether he was prepared
to vote for the abolition of the law of primogeniture and
entail ? 3. Whether he was in favour of the property
qualification for Members of Parliament being abolished?
and 4. Whether he would abolish the present mode of
election in boroughs and counties and substitute equal
electoral districts?
Sir C. EARDLEY answered the first question in the
negative. With regard to the law of primogeniture and
entail, he would not alter it excepting as regards the
property of persons dying intestate. He thought the
law should interfere when a man died intestate, so that
his property might be divided equally among his chil-
dren. As to the property qualification of Members, the
law in Scotland did not fix any qualification, and he did
not see why it should in England.—(Cheers.) Ile would
not vote for the substitution of equal electoral districts
fur the present mode of voting in boroughs and coun-
ties. From what he saw taking place on the continent
he did not like those quadrangular new-fangled arrange-
ments.—(Disapprobation).
Mr. BARKER asked if the Hon. Baronet would vote for
municipal suffrage and the ballot immediately on his
going into Parliatuent, supposing such a measure should
be introduced?
Sir C. EARDLEY replied, that he desired secret voting,
and he desired extension of the suffrage. His belief was
that there must be security for the one in order to make
he other successful,—(Cries of "Bay whether you wil