The Sun.
London, England, 1860-01-10 00:00:00

ELECTION INTELLIGENCE.

READING.
Yeste-day the election of a member to represent
the borough of Reading in Parliament, in the room
of Sir H. S. Keating, one of her Majesty's judges,
took place. At 11 o'clock the Town-hall was crowded
to excess by a noisy and impatient assemblage.
Lady Goldsrnid, Sir C. S. P. Hunter and Lady
Hunter, with most of the leading inhabitants of
the borough, occupied seats near the candidates.
After the usual preliminaries,
The MAYOR (Mr. H. A. Simonds) entreated a fair
hearing for all the candidates.
Mr. Alderman ANDREWS proposed, and Mr. Al-
derman HARRIS seconded, the nomination of Sir
Francis Henry Goldsmid, Bart.
Mr, 11. J. SIMONDS nominated, and Dr. COWAN
seconded, Mr. Ralph A. Benson.
Sir F. H. GoLDSMID, who was received with great
cheering, mingled with disapprobation, said it was
not for him to reconcile the differences between the
proposer and the seconder of his opponent, the one
having declared that he opposed Sir F. H. Gold-
smid on political grounds, and the other that the
contest was a religious one. Leavini, these two
gentlemen to settle their amicable differences be-
tween themselves, he would venture to put his own
interpretation on the manner in which this,contest
had been conducted by his opponents. It was, then,
a political contest into which religiots differences
had been imported, in the vain attempt to mislead a
section of the Liberal electors, and to induce them
to desert their principles. In no one instance had

his political opinions been challenged, and it was
not denied that they were the political opinions of
the majority of the constituency. (" No, and loud
cheers.) Thus much had been conceded by the
Conservative candidate, who persuaded the Liberal
electors to vote for him, at the same time assuring
them that they might come over to him without
any sacrifice of their political opinions. The
Conservatives of Reading, knowing that there
was no chance of defeating him upon political
grounds, raised a shout or yell against him on ac-
count of his creed, in order to create a religious pre-
judice against him. (Cheers.) They had declared
that those who ventured to support him would deny
their Christianity. (Cheers and counter cheers.)
Now, upon that assertion he joined issue with them.
It was a sentiment utterly incapable of being sup-
ported before any assembly of sensible men. The
admission of Jews to Parliament had been promoted
not only by eminent laymen of the Christian
Church, by statesmen of unquestioned piety and
distinguished eminence, but by some of the most
eminent prelates of the Christian Church. Unless
the Conservatives of Reading were prepared to ex-
communicate all these celebrated persons, they
must admit that Christians might consistently sup-
port the admission of the Jews to Parliament.
Churchmen like Robert Grant, Lord Bexley, Sir
W. P. Wood, Mr. Gladstone, and Mr. Roundell
Palmer had warmly advocated the removal of
Jewish disabilities, and so also had prelates like
Archbishop Whately, Bishop Maltby, Bishop Tait,
and Bishop Villiers. If they turned from indivi-
duals to bodies of persons, they found that the con-
stituency of London had for ten successive years
returned a Jew to Parliament, while the House of
Commons had on repeated occasions during a quar-
ter of a century by large majorities sanctioned the
admission of Jews to the Legislature. Did the Con-
servatives of Reading assume to themselves the
power of excommunicating all these fellow Chris-
tians. whether individuals or bodies of men, and
would they pretend to assert that they were not
Christians because they promoted the admission
of Jews to Parliament? (Cheers.) They appeared
to set out with an assumption which they would
condemn if it were arrogated by the Pope of Rome.
Mr. Benson had expressed an opinion that the
Romagna ought never to become part of the
Pope's dominions again. In that opinion he con-
curred, but did Mr. Benson know that his views
met the same censure at Rome that he himself'
proposed to inflict upon the laymen and prelates of
his own Church ? The Pope declare.' that the Mar-
quis D'Azeglio, in asserting the independence of
the Romagna, had denied the immortality of the
soul. It was impossible for the Pope to imitate the
Reading Conservatives, and were the Reading Con.
servatives merely imitating the Pope? Mr. Benson
desired to represent Reading, and so he asserted
that any one who voted for the admission of a Jew
into Parliament denied his Christianity. Now, he
could not agree with "Pope Benson"—(laughter)—
in this assertion, or admit his infallibility. He had
referred to statesmen of Liberal politics and emi-
nent piety who had promoted the admissimi of the
Jews to Parliament. He might also refer to emi-
nent Conservative statesmen who had dono the same
thing. No less than three successive leaders of the
great Conservative party in which Mr. Benson had
enrolled himself as a member had spoken and voted
for the removal of Jewish disabilities. Sir R. Peel,
in 1848, in an eloquent speech, combated the argu-
ment of Mr. Goulburn, that Christianity would lose
something in the estimation of heathen nations if
Jews were admitted to the Legislature. Sir R. Peel
argued, on the contrary, that there could be nothing
more unfavourable to the success of any appeal made
to heathen nations than the commission of any in-
justice in the name of Christianity. Ho rejoiced ex-
ceedingly that the views of the majority of the elec-
tors of Reading as to their Christian duty were in
accordance with those of Sir R. Peel, and not those
of "Pope Benson." (Cheers and laughter.) The late
Lord G. Bentinck was also an advocate of the ad-
mission of the Jews to Parliament. He remembered
being on one occasion under the gallery of the
House of Commons with his late father, Baron Gold-
smid, when Lord G. Bentine pointed to his father
as an illustration of the hardship and injustice of
excluding from the House of Commons men whose
aid was so extensively sought by Christians for the
support of their charitable institutions. (Cheers.)
Lord G. Bentinck was succeeded by Mr. Disraeli,
who was himself sprung from the Jewish race, but
who, without sharing the Jewish faith, pursued a
course which men of less generous feelings would
not follow. Mr. Disraeli was not, however, the
only leading member of the Conservative party
who had promoted the admission of the Jews into
Parliament ; Sir John Pakington, Lord Stanley
(who had been alluded to by either the pro-
poser or seconder of his opponent as the probable
future leader of the Conservative party), and Sir
F. Kelly had also voted for the admission of the
Jews. With what show of consistency, then, could
Mr. Benson ask them to return him to a House of
Commons which had for 25. years abandoned and
betrayed its Christian duty in order to support a
party, the leading members of which had been
treacherous to their duty ? (Cheers.) AN as it pos-
sible for unscrupulous electioneering arts to go
much further? (Cheers.) After referring to a
local handbill which had been published against
him, and referring to one or two local matters, Sir
F. Goldsmid said it had been urged by his opponents
that the Liberal party were prejudiced because he
was a Jew. The Liberal electors supported him
because, finding his political opinions in accordance
with those of a majority of the electors, and con-
sidering him qualified in other respects, they
thought it inconsistent with the principles of reli-
gious freedom that he should be excluded from the
representation of the borough simple because he
was a Jew. (Cheers.) He had not been brought
forward on account of his religion, but he had not
been rejected on account of it. (Cheers.) It had
been said that the House of Commons had passed
the Jewish Disabilities Bill because they had been
told that only two or three corrupt constituencies
would ever return Jews. This statement had no
foundation in fact, and the best answer to it was
that the city of London had for 10 successive years
elected a Jew for a representative. It had also been
said that if elected he could not attend to his legis-
lative duties on Friday evening. Really his oppo-
nents not only took upon themselves to instruct the
electors in their Christian duties, but were also good
enough to teach him the duties of his own religion.
The statement was utterly unfounded, and if those
who made it had taken the trouble to inquire into
the course pursued by the three members of the
Jewish persuasion in the House of Commons, they
would have found that they were as regular in their
attendance on Fridays as on any other evenings,and
that, in so doing, they were acting in entire ac-
cordance with the Jewish religion. (A Voice.—
" Goldsmid forever I" and loud cheering.) He would
now pass to another charge against him—that he
was about to obtain his seat by corruption. To that
charge he would offer an indignant denial. He had
already availed himself of the opportunities he had
enjoyed to state his political opinions. It was im-
possible to determine the exact
point to which the
franchise ought to be extended, buto
the general
outline of the bill of Lord T. Russell, far as it had
been foreshadowed by the noble lord himself
such as deserved support. He also coneurred'wwash
those who thought that the time had arrived with
those who thought that the time had arrived for
the abolition of church rates. With regard to Italy
he should be glad to see England so use her power
as to secure the independence of those Italian States
that wished to free themselves from foreign rule. It
was unnecessary he should detain them at greater
length, because his political opinions had not been
challenged. He would, however, add that the at-
tempt to induce a section of Sir It. Keating's sup-
porters to withdraw their vOies'on religious grounds
had altogether failed. He was happy to assure his
friends that the result of his canvass left no doubt
whatever in his mind that to-morrow's setting sun
would behold him in the position of their member.
(Loud cheers and disapprobation.)
Mr. BENSON, who was received with prolonged
and enthusiastic cheering, said that whatever might
be the result of the present contest, it was clear that
if Sir F. H, Goldsmid were enabled so to legislate