The Sun.
London, England, 1846-07-22 00:00:00

SOUTH LANCASHIRE ELEuTION.
RETURN OF MR. BROWN.
New-Torn TUESDAY.—A vacancy having occurred in the
representation of this division of the county of Lancaster, in
consequence of the elevation of the late Tory Member, Lord
F. Egerton, to the House of Lords, under the title of Lord
Ellesmere, the election to the vacant seat took place this
day, when the third largest constituency in the kingdom,
following the example of the only two constituencies which
stand before it in point of numbers (the West Riding of
Yorkshire and the City of London), returned a free-trade
tlember to Parliament without the slightest show of
opposition. Here also occured what Lord Morpetle speak-
ing of his own quiet and unanims us return for the West
Riding, called " a singular contrast to preceding elections ;"
for here, for the first time, the electors of South Lancashire
met " under a roof, within doors, and sitting upon u
chairs."
The County Court, as it is termed, met this morning at ten
o'clock, at the Horse anti Jockey, a second-rate tavern in
this place, und.r the presi:leocy of Standish Standish, _Esq.,
the Sheriff ; and, small as the apartment was where the
County Court wes held, there was plenty of room for Mr.
Brown, his more immediate friend!, and those of the 18,148
electors who thought it necessary to attend.
Amongst the supporters of Mr. Brown we noticed Alderman,
Walker, Alderman Potter, Esq., R. ll.Greg.Esq., W. A. Wood
Eel., J. Smith, Esq., J. D. Teornely, Esq., Samuel Thornelv,
Esq , J. Harvey, Esq., G. Holt, Esq., 'l'. Jevons, Esq., J. C.
Ewart, Esq., H. Holmes, Esq., C. Rawdon, Eeq., T. Black-
burn, Esq., J. Priestly, Esq., J. T. Crook, Esq., T. Bolton,
Esq., H. Ashworth, Esq., and many others.
The proceeedings were most unanimous, and when it is
considered that for many years this county has sent nothing
but Tories to Parliament, the triumphant and unopposed re-
turn of Mr. Brown, coupled with the fact of his having re-
ceived a requisition signed by more than half of the whole
constituency, must be most gratifying to himself as a free-
trader, and to the supporters of liberal principles generally.
The usual formalities over, •
H.. GANG,: Egg., -came Prime. to propose :William'
.:13rown, Esq., of. Liverpool, as. a sit and proper- person to
represent them •in Parliament.— (Cheers.) It was a short
and pleasing duty which he had that day to perform—
, pleasing to himself and to the electors, in that he had so
excellent a candidate to propose to them ; short, inasmuch
as the electors in general seemed to be of the same
opinion as himself with respect to the fitness of the can-
didate whom he had the honour to propose. It was not ne-
cessary for him, therefore, to detain them at any length.—
(Cheers.) In proof of the unanimity which prevailed, he
need only allude to the fact that not a shadow of opposition
had been raised to Mr. Brown's election ; and to that other
fact, which was without a parallel in that county, that Mr.
Brown had received a requisition signed by not less than
8,000 electors of South Lancashire calling on him to come
forward to represent their interest in Parliament.—(Cheers.)
He could riot help fur one moment contrasting the happy
circumstances under which they met that day with those
which existed at the last election.—(Cheers.) They met
before upon that very spot, with the very same candidate,
fighting for the very same principles which they advocated
now; and if he alluded to their discomfiture upon that occa-
sion, and to the repudiation of their candidate and of their
principles, he did so only in order to excite a more lively
satisfaction, and a more sincere gratitude.—(Cheers.) If it
was pleasant to triumph over their opponents, it was
tenfold more agreeable to see their opponents converted
into political friends to see them advocating the
principles for which they themselves had so long contended.
—(Cheers.) That pleasure had been theirs (the free-traders
of Lancashire) in an eminent degree; but amidst all their
rejoicings, amidst all the conversions which had taken
place, they must not forget that there still existed a powerful
party in this country attached to their former narrow com-
mercial principles—they must not forget that time contest,
either on a small scale or a great scale, would still be re-
newed between the old principles and the new ; and that they
bad not only to push their new policy into more extended
channels, but that they might have to defend the ground
which they had so nobly and so successfully achieved.—
(Loud cheers.) In such circumstances as those, it was of the
utmost importance that they should possess in Parliament an
able representative—an attached and tried friend, not a new
convert—one whose principles, whose corinexions, whose in-
terests, whose very habits were interwoven with commercial
freedom and the freedom of manufacturing industry.—
(Cheers.) Such he believed Mr. Brown to be, and such lie
believed he would prove himself if they would that day elect
him their representative in Parliament.—(Loud cheers.) It
had been said by some gentlemen, whose opinion was
worthy of all respect, that there was no danger of
their reverting to their ancient narrow policy in commercial
and political affairs. If those gentlemen only meant that
there was no danger of a relapse to the utmost extent of these
errors, he fully and cordially agreed with them; but if they
thought that there was no Weer of a partial return to them
—of any reaction—then he differed from them entirely.—
( Hear, hear.) He thought, under such circumstances as
existed, that a reaction was not only possible but extremely
natural. In the first place, many persons had extravagant
expectations of anticipated good to result from free trade,
which, though they might be realised in the end, might not
be realised for some time. Such anticipations, so indefinite
and extravagant, were sure to lead to disappointment, and
disappointment naturally led to reaction —(Chcers.) Then,
again, the repeal of the corn-laws might lead in the first
place to extreme low prices of agricultural produce, and
that might cause great alarm amongst the agricultural
classes of the country, and might give rise to combinations
and to strong attempts to return to their ancient princi-
ples. They might also hare to meet what was not often
alluded to, but what he betioeed would be found to he the
fact, the disappeinted expectations of many of the manu-
facturing classes; for though it was true that they could
compete successfully with the foreigner in those branches
of industry where labour, capital, skill, and machinery were
all united, yet they would find that all that class of manu-
facturers who relied upon the produce of the hand alone, who
had hitherto had the monopoly of the home market, and had
been protected by high duties, would suffer by the change.—
(Hear, hear.) It was quite right in them, as manufacturers,
in asking for the removal of protection from agriculture, to
give up all protection from themselves, and they had done
so • but he was nevertheless quite prepared to see a very con-
siderable importation into this country of all those articles
produced solely by hand, and for which our manufacturers
had hitherto possessed the whole home market.—(Cheers.)
He would not say whether good or ill would result from that,
but he was certain that in some quarters it might lead to dis-
appointment. All these circumstances combined might cause
a strong reaction in favour of ancient principles, and such be-
ing the case, it was necessary to have a man like Mr. Brown
in Parliament, whose experience would enable him to explain
and to fight against circumstances of that description, founded
on limited facts and on narrow views.—(Cheers.) Mr. Brown
was, in his opinion, well qualified to represent them; he had
been born and bred a merchant, and was therefore, by edu-
cation, eminently fitted to represent South Lancashire, which
was but a great hive of commercial industry, and whose pro-
duce it was the duty of the merchant to transport to all
quarters of the globe, receiving in return the produce of
other countries.—(Cheers.) He had great pleasure in pro-
posing his friend Mr. Brown as the representative for South
Lancashire. Loud cheers.)
J. C. EWART, Esq., said that not having been made aware
that the honour of seconding the nomination of Mr. Brown
was to be confided to him, he was not prepared to address
them at any length. He was quite sure that the great mea-
sure which had lately passed into a law would be productive
not of evil, but of positive good to the agricultural interests,
and he trusted that they should in future see both the com-
mercial and the agricultural classes uniting for the common
good of the country.—(Cheers.) The election of Mr. Browh
would, lie was sure, assist in promoting that desirable object,
and he had therefore great pleasure in seconding his nomina-
tion.—(Cheers.)
No other candidate having been proposed,
The mast Siienier declared William Brown, Esq., duly
elected a knight of the shire, to represent the southern divi-
sion of the county of Lancashire.
W. BROWN, Esq., 111. P , then came forward, and was
greeted with three-times-three. He said—Gentlemen,
no one can feel more sensible than I do of the honour which
was conferred on me, by sending me a requisition to be a
candidate to represent in Parliament one of the most influ-
ential, one of the most enlightened, and one of the most
numerous constituencies in the kingdom.—(Cheers.) That
requisition, being more numerously signed than probably
any document of the kind that was ever presented to any
candidate before, at once claimed from me that attention and
respect to which it was entitled; and it has also secured to
you the victory of this day.—(Cheers.) My too partial
friends hive said a great deal in my behalf, and though I am
quite aware that a more able exponent ofyour opinions might
have been selected, yet I assure you that one mere anxious
to perform his duty than I shall be could not have been:
chosen—(Cheers)—and, supported bysuebe Jilrmenregne,TC:
whose opinions and views must
our representative
the destiny, of the nation, heirrwm-seeme y
may be, your voice must be heard in the omnions House of
Parliament.—(Loud cheers.) Gentlemen, I most sincerely
congratulate you upon the revocation of the corn-laws, and
upon the conversion of the leading statesmen of the late two
great. political parties of this country to the advantages of
commercial freedom.—(Cheeri) Therhave knocked the
key-stone from the arch. of-monopoly, and the rotten
fabric must soon crumble into dust.—(Cheers.) But, gen-
tlemen, we must not forget how deeply we are indebted to
our distinguished friends, Mr. Cobden, Mr. Villiers, Mr.
Bright, Mr. Wilson, and that galaxy of bright names who
constituted the early members of the League.—(Loud cheers.)
Their services are not to be measured by our voices, how-
ever far our voices may extend. They have, through good
report and through bad report, pursued the even tenor of
their way, till they have achieved for their country one of
the greatest moral victories that ever was accomplished—
that mighty and powerful movement which is more impor-
tant to England, and to the world at large, than any
event recorded in the pages of our history.—(Loud cheers.)
In me, gentlemen, I trust you will find a faithful watchman,
who will guard with jealous care, as far as his.abiiity goes,
the ripening fruit which in due season we may have at our
disposal, arising from the good seed which the League has
sown.—(Loud cheers.) That fruit we must not expect too
soon, or we shall be disappointed; but in due season rest as-
sured We shall reap the rich harvest of free trade.—(Loud
cheers.) Those gentlemen even who still unfortunately differ
from us in opinion, are, I think, more alarmed than hurt,
and I would recal to them that their panic was as great
when grain was admitted free of duty from Ireland, and
when live stock was admitted at a greatly reduced rate of
duty from the Continent. They prophecied that their es-
tates would be ruined, and their rents destroyed ; but what
has been the consequence? Why, land is as much in
demand as ever, and I have not heard that the
rent-rolls of the aristocracy have been lowered.--(Loud
cheers.) Let those gentlemen look at the value of com-
mercial freedom. Let them look at Cadiz, Venice, and
Augsburg, once the seats of commercial industry. Let them
look at the state of those countries now, and at the pro-
perty in their immediate neighbourhood. I will venture to
say that property near Augsburg is not worth one-tenth of
what it was when that country was the great emporium of
goods from the East.—(Cheers.) Commerce, gentlemen, is
the sheet-anchor of the nation—it gives us prosperity, happi-
ness, and contentment at home—it promotes peace, good-
will, and fellowship—it extends civilisation and Christianity
wherever it goes—it unites us in the bonds of friendship with
every nation of the world, whilst it also sustains the value
of landed estates and the rent-rolls of their possessors,—
(Loud cheers.) It is, therefore, our duty, individually and
collectively, landlord, manufacturer, and merchant, to cherish
it by every means In our power, and the secret of cherishing
it is to let it alone.—(Loud and prolonged cheers.) There
are other subjects to which, standing as I now do in the
proud position of your representative, you will perhaps ex-
pect that I should allude. The sugar question, for instance.