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

as to bring about a large extension of the suffrage
the hon. baronet would never again hold up his
hand in Reading. (Cheers and hisses.) Sir F. H.
Goldsmid had given him a patronymic tha' lu never
hoped to enjoy. He had called him " Pope Benson,"
and his amusement had been so great that he could
only thank Mr. "Rabbi Goldsmid" for it: (A
laugh.) One of the principal reasons for Sir F.
Goldsmid's selection as a candidate had been his
great wealth. (No.) That had been confessed by
' Mr. Ald. Andrews. [Mr. Andrews said something
in reply.] In fairness to Mr. Andrews he ought to
state that Mr. Andrewssaid, " hehad not given it as
a reason, but as a subsidiary advantage." (Laughter)
That was an acute logical distinction which would
not sink very deep in the apprehension of that meet-
ing. (Cheers.) He would not retract one word of
what lae had said as to the improper means used by
the other side to obtain votes. He would tell Sir F.
Goldsmid that he had a statement in writing, and
signed before witnesses, to the effect that (the
speaker's voice was drowned in a volley of shouts
and hisses). He did not insinuate that his opponent
went about with gold in his hand to corrupt the
voters, but such was his known wealth that certain
men in his interest, and imagining, he supposed,
that their bills would be paid, had bribed some of
the poorer voters. [This statement elicited great
disapprobation. As often as Mr. Benson attempted to
renew his address he was encountered with hisses and
cries of " Name."] He would undertake that the
name should be communicated to Sir F. Goldsmid's
committee when the election was decided. (Groans
and a Voice, " It is a public charge and ought to be
publicly met.") He would not betray a poor man
into the hands of Mr. Exall. (Cheers, disapproba-
tion, and prolonged interruption—a Voice, " You
shall have my vote if you give us the name !")
The MAYOR hoped they would hear Mr. Benson.
A fair hearing had been given to one candidate,
and it would be a very unmanly thing not to listen
to the other. (Cheers and a cry "We will hear Mr.
' Benson if he will give us the name.")
Mr. BENSON again tried to gain a hearing, but
without success. _ _ .

The MAYOR said, there was a painful part of his
duty which he should be obliged to perform. If any
gentlemen wilfully persisted in interrupting the
meeting, he should order the police to remove them.
After a delay of nearly half an hour, in which
many conferences took place between the Mayor
and Town-clerk, and much gesticulation and ex-
planation were going on between Mr. Benson and
some of Sir F. H. Goldsmid's committeemen, the
mob hooting the while,
The MATOIt said that Sir F. H. Goldsmid would
make an explanation, which would, he trusted, ob-
tain a hearing for Mr. Benson.
Sir F. H. GOLDSMID then came forward, but was
received with great hooting from his opponents,
which prevented the hon. baronet from being heard.
Mr. BENSON at length took advantage of a tem-
porary lull to say that the question which had
caused all the disturbance would be set at rest that
afternoon by a meeting between the leaders of the
two committees. Sir F. H. Goldsmid, however,
begged it to be understood that when the names
were communicated to him he was not to be bound
to keep it a secret. Of course when the secret be-
came known to Sir F. H. Goldsmid he could do as
he pleased with it, but he would not on his own
responsibility subject a poor man to the
chances of insult within the next 24 hours by gen-
tlemen as virulent as his opponents. (Cheers and
great uproar.) After an interchange of hustings
compliments between the hon. candidate and some
of his opponents on the hustings, Alr. Benson pro-
ceeded to say that those who argued that religion
had nothing to do with politics did not take suffi-
cient thought of what they sail They must have
forgotten that the House of Commons itself opened
with prayer. (Cheers, and a pugilistic combat in
the centre of the hall.) If they cared not whether
a member of Parliament were a Christian or a Jew,
they would surely care as little whether the House
of Commons were filled with Roman Catholics or
Protestants, and they must do away with the Pro-
testant succession of the Throne. (Cheers and cries
of "Oh! ") If Sir F. H. Goldsmid were returned
to the House of Commons one of his first duties in
the approaching session would be to consider the
question of a revision of the English liturgy.
(Cheers.) How could a conscientious Jew try his
hand at a reconstruction of the liturgy of the esta-
blished church ? It was absurd to pretend in the
year 1860 that a constituency had not a right to elect
a Jew to Parliament. All he argued was that in so
doing they acted wrongly and unwisely. The new
year was commencing under an atmosphere of pro-
sperity not often paralleled, but perhaps they were
not aware that it was owing to the firm and consis-
tent foreign policy of a Conservative Government
that Englend had kept out of the net of war that
might have overwhelmed her in ruin and destruc-
tion. (Cheers.) Commerce was elastic, the funds
were steady, and labour was well employed. What,
then, was the great question that agitated their
minds. They were asked to raise the cry of civil
and religious liberty, and they were told that it
was their bounden duty as a Christian constituency
to elect a Jew. (A cry of" Oh !" and " No persecu-
tion !") llid his opponent look as if he was perse-
cuted ? (A laugh.) When the Jews were at the
top of the moneyocracy of Europe the canting cry
that they were persecuted ought not to be raised.
(Cheers.) Had they been able to obtain from Sir
F. 11. Goldsmid a single idea as to his opinion
with regard to the new Reform Bill? (" No ! ' and
" Yes !") The Conservative party were in favour
of an £8 franchise for boroughs. Lord J. Russell
seemed to be in favour of £7. But Mr. Bright said
it was not worth taking the trouble to oust the late
Government if there was to be only the difference
of 20s. between Lord Palmerston and Lord Derby.
The Reform Bill brought forward last spring—
(groans)—was rejected by the House of Commons,
because it was in many re-spedts faulty. But with
all its faults it would have added 500,000 voters
to the franchise—(hear)—and the proposal of
Lord J. Russell would not add more. Did they
know how many voters would be added to the
borough of Reading if the franchise were
reduced to £8 ? Why from 700 to 800.
Was not that enough ? "No !" and " Yes !"
and a voice, "We want double.") He believed that
to reduce the franchise to £5 and £6 would be con-
ferring no benefit upon the town, but a positive
curse. (Hear.) No Reform Bill would be worthy
of adoption that was confined to a gross money
valuation of tenement, and left out the industrious
man with money in the Savings Bank and the edu-
cated man who might be only a lodger. They were
told sometimes that the Conservatives were not the
friends of the working classes, but there was too
much strong sense permeating the law' for such an
assertion to be received. During the Parliamentary
recess, when other statesmen were seeking repose,
who were more diligent in social congresses for im-
proving the dwellings of the poor and the education
of the children of the working classes than Sir J.
Pakington, Mr. Adderley, and Lord Stanley? The
reduction of the hours of labour in factories had
been advocated by the Conservatives and opposed
by the Radicals, and the law reforms of Sir F.
Kelly and Sir H. Cairns had never been equalled in
the same space of time. After declaring that he
could never support the ballot or the unconditional
abolition of church-rates, Mr. Benson said he should
be unwilling to see the States of the Church that
had thrown off their allegiance to the Pope again
fettered, and he wished that Sir F. H. Goldsmid
had expressed the disapproval he (Mr. Benson) felt
at England's taking any part in the proposed Con-
gress. He had not that implicit confidence which
some felt in the potentate across the Channel, who
aspired to be the dictator of Europe and of England
herself, who when we were seeking explanations
dazzled us with the glare of the Champ de Mars,
and who when we asked what his policy really
was, replied to us by the thunders of Solferino.
(Cheers.) He regarded that great potentate with
alarm, nor had he any confidence in the anti-Gallic
tendencies of Lord Palmerston, in whose brain
the Epernay of Compiegne was still simmering.
(Cheers and laughter.) He was not one .of
those who refused to recognise genius in the
countrymen of Isaiah or valour in the succes-
sors of the Maccabees. Whatever might be the
result of this election, which Sir F. H. Gold-
smid told them would end in an overwhelming
majority for the Liberal candidate, he should never
feel ashamed when he looked back upon the events
of the contest, or upon the audacity he was told he
had displayed in avowing himself a Conservative
and a Christian. (Great cheering.)
The MAYOR then took a show of hands, which he
declared to be in favour of Mr. Benson. (Great
cheering from the Conservatives.)
A poll was then demanded for Sir F. H. Gold-
smid, which will take place this day (Tuesday).
The proceedings then terminated.