The Sun.
London, England, 1846-01-09 00:00:00

IN 1 min t a')Ault.

LONDON, FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 1846.

It will be seen from the address of Mr. GLADSTONE
to the electors (he should have said the non-electors)
of Newark, that hedeclines to present himself again as
a candidate for the representation of that borough.
The reason he gives is rather curiously expressed.
" As I have good reason," says he, "to believe that
a candidate, recommended to your favour through
local connexion, may ask your suffrages, it becomes
my very painful duty to announce to you, on that
ground alone, my retirement from a position which
has afforded me so much of honour and ofsatisfaction."
A stranger to Newark and Clumber Castle on reading
the paragraph would have imagined that the Secre-
tary to the Colonies was to be opposed because he
was encumbered by official duties, and could not at-
tend to the interests of his constituents, or that
some active citizen, well acquaintxl with the
population and the affairs of the borough,
from a conviction that both had been neglected by
the late Member, had generously offered to supply
his place, sacrifice his domestic comforts, and per-
haps injure his trade or profession. for the good •f his
fellow-citizens ; but great would be his wonder when
he learned that all this was most opposite to the fact
—that there was only one elector, the Duke of
NEWCASTLE—that Newark was his property—and,
adhering to a noble principle laid down by his
Grace, " that a man had a right to do what he liked
with his own," he was pleased to supplant Mr.
GLADSTONE by some new favourite. Yet this
is done, and openly done, in England ; where,
by the law of the land, all Peers are prohibited
from interfering in any way whatever with the elec-
tion of burgesses. What a mockery, then, is the law
made by King, Lords, and Commons, when it is thus
openly violated by one of the law-makers, and that too
for his own personal interests. Another law also is vio-
lated—that by which a Member, on being appointed
to a Government office of a certain class, is compelled
to return to his constituents, and ask their sanction
to the measure. This is an excellent regulation, be-
cause it forms a check on the Government, and en-
ables the people, in some respects, to control their
policy ; but in this instance it is a dead letter. The
Duke says " You shall not consult the con-
stituents—your measures are not my measures—
you propose to remove a tax justly im-
posed for the good of the aristocracy, and
by the aristocracy to raise their rent-rolls. The
people, of course, wish to get rid of that tax, but we
are the lawgivers, and the people shall feel this to
their cost. The borough is mine, and I will return a
fit representative." And what is the consequence of
this policy, putting its illegality entirely out of the
question ? Mr. GLADSTONE is appointed to one
of the most important departments in the
State; that department has been greatly mis-
managed latterly—at all events, the Noble Lord
who has vacated it, gave universal dissatisfaction, and
the state of New Zealand, as well as other colo-
nies, bears witness that the dissatisfaction was not
without reasonable grounds. Yet the Minister who
succeeds is forbidden to consult his former constituents;
he cannot attend in his place in the Commons to an•
swer the grievances complained of, and the duty
of his office can only be very imperfectly and most
unsatisfactorily performed, till he is smuggled into
some other pocket-borough, or obtains a seat by less
creditable means. This is a great blot en the Re-
form Bill, but, nevertheless, let us be thankful
to the Duke ; he is carrying his illegal policy
to the utmost extent ; he is thereby pointing
out in the most effective manner the rottenness
of a system which includes some forty or fifty places,
all said to be represented, but without any consti-
tuents whatever, and thus forcing upon the people of
England another struggle for the extension of
the suffrage. We are much obliged to the
Dukes. The Duke of WELLINGTON'S famous
speech decided the Reform Bill, and another
Duke is doing his duty in an equally
effective manner to render that Bill more perfect.
Mr. GLADSTONE'S address lets out another secret.
" I am given to understand," he adds in another part
of the address, " that persons favourable to unrelaxed
protection were not prepared themselves to undertake
the conduct of public affairs, in conformity with the
views which they entertained." So that the
Duke of NEWCASTLE, and the perverse clique
who cry out for " protection," will neither
work themselves nor let others work. The Rica-
MONDS, and BUCKINGHAM, and STANLEYS, COUld
not venture to announce to a House of Commons
their extravagant principles, because they knew they
would be laughed to scorn. They stand in the way of
all improvement—they would stem the stream which
they cannot turn, and, like all obstructions of such
puny strength, will, for the good of their country,
be in due time swept away by the unconquerable force
of the current.

In another part of our paper will be found a
report of a meeting of agricultural labourers in North
Wiltshire, which we have transferred from the
Times. It is worthy of deep and earnest atten-
tion ; yet this recommendation is unnecessary—it is
impossible to peruse it unmoved. It is no varnished
tale—no plausible romance, adorned with rounded
periods and melodious phrases; it boasts no adventi-
tious ornaments, yet is it eloquent, eloquent with the
power of truth, which is, like beauty, " when un-
adorned, adorned the most." It is a brief statement
of the sorrows of the poor, narrated by themselves,
in language at once simple and affecting. No writer
of fiction ever adorned his pages with such touching
pathos, such heart-stirring eloquence—no painter ever
conceived a more impressive scene. In a cross-road
in the open country, without shelter of any kind, on
a dark, cold winter night, are assembled about a
thousand persons, dressed in the commonest garb, all
wasted by suffering. On a rude bench is seated a
man of venerable appearance, poor and sorrowful like
the rest ; but his language is full of humble piety and
reliance upon PROVIDENCE. A few uncouth lanterns
shed a fitful light around ; some illumine the counte-
nance of youth, of youth without smiles, like life
without sunshine, or serve to distinguish the
features of children shivering with cold, or starv-
ing with hunger. Some show us the unhappy mo-
thers, with pale faces and wasted frames, and hard-
working, suffering men, toiling for inadequate reward.
With what breathless eagerness do they heed the
humble speaker, who tells of his troubles, and re-
echoes their own ; how their voices rise in concert to
natives
at his
ssvpt h e
esai truth, how
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fs a obf barbarous
bwairfotu theirs ldeliverancea facesw where
e r 1 glowe slslavery
v re
ery withtheseis
tolerated hopeso
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and approved ; is it a scene of ancient days in the
old times of feudal tyranny ? Not so ; it isaglimpse
of the peasantry of England in the civilised and re
fined nineteenth century ! These starving, I suffering
men are the tillers of the soil, by the sweat of whose
brow the great and powerful are enriched—who toil
without reward, and starve without pity. And why
are they thus assembled here ? Not to resist oppres-
sive power ; not to break the laws. stern and heart-
less though they often be; not to I,s,- 'n vengeance,
and try the power of right against might—far
from it. They meet publicly to relate their sor-

rows, to declare that their cup of misery
is full to overflowing, and to petition the SOVEREIGN
to exert the noblest prerogative of the Crown, " the
attribute of Heaven itself," and show mercy to their
sufferings, since justice is denied them by their fellow-
men. They have not spoken in vain; their words
have not been " wasted on the desert air ;" they are
diffused through the length and breadth of the land,
and everywhere they must produce effect. Eloquence
may contradict eloquence, fine speeches may coun-
teract fine speeches, but truth is unanswerable. Not
all the hereditary wisdom of the Dukes of RICHMOND
and BUCKINGHAM, not all the culinary science of the
Duke of NORFOLK, nor the poetic genius of Lord W.
Limmx, not the united eloquence of the whole ex-
clusive faction could answer the plain statements of
these humble men. Take the following examples :
" William Parry, of Charlton, said, I have come a
distance of twenty miles to tell my tale of distress. I
have six children, a wife, and myself to maintain on Bs.
per week, bread being 15d. per gallon. The farmers tell
us that our wages go according to the price of bread ;
but last spring I had 7s. a week, and could buy bread at
9d. a gallon. Now it is 6d. more ; and a gallon a day,
being one pound to each, is what we want in my family.
Then there is clothing and firing wanted, and house
rent to pay ; but there is nothing to pay for any of these
things. I told the relieving officer that I could not keep
my family on my wages. He said he would bring my
case forward at the board of guardians. Well, he sent
me an order for one of my children to go into the work •
house. Now, fellow-labourers, is not one child as dear
to you as another ?—(Hear, hear.) Well, I did not
know which to send. I could not part with ne'er a one.
I said to my oldest girl, You are to go into the work-
house.' She did not like to go, and I spoke to others,
and there I had the cries of my poor children, which
were piercing to my heart, Don't send me, father !
don't send me !' Was not that enough to try a man,
without the pressure of starvation ? I spoke to master
about it. Oh,' he says, if you cannot maintain them
you had better send one into the workhouse ' • I shall
not allow you any more wages.' I said, what benefit is
it to send this child into the workhouse and banish it
from its home; it will do the rest no good, nor that one
either. Besides, I should have it always upon my mind,
for no man would like to part from his children in such
a way.—(Hear.) I spoke a few words at a meeting at
Uphaven, and master told me I had done myself a
great deal of hurt by it. I know I only told the truth.
He said the farmers might have done me some good but
for that. * * •
" William Taylor stated that he had a wife and four
children, and expected soon to have five ; and was at
present out of employment. For the last seven weeks
he was in work he got 6s. 6d.per week. For many days
he had been without a bit of bread to eat.
" A person in the crowd—But you are one of the pro-
tected Wiltshire labourers. Were you discharged from
your employment because you were so weak you could
not work?
" Taylor—Yes, I could not work because I was not
strong enough ; I could not get victuals to make me so ;
and my master, Mr. Styles, of Whitcomb, discharged me.
I have no work now, and not a sixpence..
" A voice—Go to the Duke of Richmond, at 17, Bond-
street.—(Cries of Hear, hear.')
" Another voice—Did ever any of your fellow-
labourers give you bread when you were starving ?
" Taylor—Yes, several times. I han't had any to-day
but what that man gave me.(pointing to a labourer in the
crowd, who replied, Yes, I gave him some to-day.')
May God Almighty soon send free trade !
[This poor man need not have called himself a starv-
ing man, his emaciated appearance spoke in stronger
terms than his voice could utter].
" James Peglar complained that he had been
hunted down' under the poor-laws, having been, with
his wife and family, forced into the workhouse, and se-
parated from them for eleven months.—(Cries of
'Shame!') At last he was turned out to get work ; and,
because he went out of the district to find work, he was
taken before the magistrates, and charged with desertion,
for which he was sent to prison for a month. It was
no use for him to grumble; he was served so again after
that. God bless my heart and life ! (exclaimed this
man) I never seed sich a go to be sure as how I was
served. I knows enough of starvation and misery to
make me say, God send us free trade !' "—(Cheers.)
One of the chief characteristics of the English
people is their enduring fortitude ; this is the great
secret of our national greatness. The eager vivacity
of the French, the impetuous ardour of the southerns,
have frequently made them foremost for a time, the
English are daring, and high-spirited, and brave;
but it is to their endurance in adversity that they owe
their proud position. Others gain con st but we
keep them ; others win a brief fame while
we earn lasting glory. What an example is
presented by the people at this moment. Poverty
and hunger, neglect and oppression are their portion ;
they do not rebel, they do not even despair ; no dis-
orderly movement is made ; they only follow the pre-
scribed rules; they meet to communicate their griefs;
they petition the Legislature to amend the laws, and
they await the result with anxious patience. May
they not wait long ! Oh, let the relief be speedy—
let those in power remember, to give quickly is to
give twice. In another fortnight the representatives
of the people re-assemble ; may they truly represent
their constituents, and be unanimous and resolved as
they are. Let the landlords still hold out if they
will—they will be but a feeble minority. Short-
sighted men ! did they know their own interests they
would act differently. Are they ignorant that their
welfare depends on that of the labourer ? They can
no more exist without him than a column "without its
base, yet the base can exist without the capital. If
noble Lords studied architecture it might be bet-
ter for them; they would not be so ready to build
without foundation. The meeting at Goatacre will
be useful in many ways; it will set an exampleto the
rest of the country, and, as one of the men observed,
‘‘ It will even be gratifying to Sir R. PEEL, who is
waiting for the people of this country to press him on
to repeal, for he knows, as well as any man, the bad
effects the corn-laws are producing."

We have received Madrid journals of the 31st ult.
The debate on the Address commenced in the Senate
on the 30th, and was resumed next day. The first
five paragraphs were adopted with little discussion.
On the sixth being proposed, M. 13unoos moved that
it be omitted. That paragraph stated that the subor-
dination and good discipline of the army were the
surest guarantees of public peace. This he considered
opposed to constitutional government, as the only
sure guarantee was is the due execution of the laws.
General NnnvAEz opposed the amendment, and de-
nied that the military power dominated over every
other power in the State. Military domination was
at an end, and ordinary laws and a free press were
established. There were no powers existing except-
ing those sanctioned by the law, and the fact was
evinced by the meeting of the representatives of the
people. The paragraph was ultimately adopted. No
business of any interest was done in the other
Chamber.

On the 31st the Three per Cents. were quoted a'
36i at 60 days.

The accounts from Paris of the state of the stock and
share-market are very favourable. On Tuesday the
Three per Cents. opened at the closing prices of the
previous day, but afterwards advanced considerably,
and closed at 83f. 20c., showing a rise of 30c. The
Fives left off firm at 121 f. 45c.; and all the railway
shares closed at higher quotations. Discussions and
Ministerial explanations had taken place in the Corn-
mittee of the Deputies appointed to draw up the
answer to the Address. Four of the Ministers were
present—M. GUIZOT, Admiral MACKAU, General
ST. YoN, and M. C. GRIDAINE, the Minister of
Commerce. In answer to questions, the Minister for
Foreign Affairs spoke at considerable length. With
regard to the intervention of France and England
on the Plate, he said that both powers were deter-
mined to continue steady in the course they had
adopted, until tranquillity should be completely re-
stored ; and, in regard to the annexation of Texas,
France had only taken those steps without regard to
England which she considered conducive to her own
interests. The papers relative to this subject would
be laid before the Chambers. The Minister of
Marine, Admiral MACKAU, confirmed a statement
made by M. GUIZOT, and said France had no inten-
tion to colonise Madagascar. The object of the expe-
dition was to avenge the death of the French soldiers
who had perished in that island, and when that ob-
ject was attained, and guarantees had been given for
the safety of those carrying on trade in the island, the
expedition would return to France. The other topics
adverted to possess little or no interest for the English
reader.

The Committee of the Chamber of Peers, appointed
to draw up the Address, also met on Tuesday,
to hear the report drawn up by Count PORTALIS. If
the Address, as drawn up by the reporter, should be
approved of by the Committee, the Peers will meet on
Wednesday in their bureaux to hear it read, and the
public discussion will probablyfoommence on Thurs-
day

We regret," says Galignani, " to announce the
death of Mr. Lewis GOLDSMITH (father of Lady
LymnnuasT), which took place last night (Monday),
at his residence, in the Rue de la Paix. His decease
was somewhat unexpected, although he bad been se-