The Sun.
London, England, 1867-07-23 00:00:00

ELECTION INTELLIGENCE.

BIRMINGHAM.
BIRMINGHAM, Monday Evening.
The nomination took place to-day in the Town-
hall. The friends of both candidates mustered in
great force, those of Mr. Dixon, the Liberal candi-
date, preponderating. The proceedings occupied a
little over two hours, but from first to last not one
sentence uttered by any speaker was heard ; it was
one long-continued deafening uproar. Each of the
speakers had to put his head down almost to the
very note-books of the reporters, who clustered
around the spot which the speaker occupied.
The MAYOR (Mr. T. Avery) prayed for a fair
bearing for both sides. The mob returned this re-
quest by hooting, yells, and groals, and
Mr. Alderman WIG GIN nominated Mr. G. Dixon,
the Liberal candidate. He said that although that
gentleman was prepared to go somewhat farther on
particular questions than he was, yet on the whole
he gave him his cordial support. He added—" I
say to the people of Birmingham, and I say it ad-
visedly, that Mr. Dixon has been most unjustly,
most shamefully, and most cruelly treated.—(hear)
—in the matter of those disgraceful riots. I was
associated as a magistrate with Mr. Dixon during
the whole of that period, and I maintain that it
would have been impossible for any man to have
performed those duties with greater ability or with
greater fairness than did Mr. Dixon. If I had no
other reason for supporting Mr. Dixon, it would be
sufficient for me to know that he has been the vic-
tim of religious bigotry and intolerance. This would
be sufficient to induce me to come to his support and
aid, and do all I can to secure his election. Now,
gentlemen, I ask you, shall we men of Birmingham,
who have always been in the van of liberalism, shall
we stultify ourselves by sending to Parliament a
man who will always vote on one side of Lord
Derby and Mr. Disraeli rather than support the
more liberal and enlightened policy of Lord Russell
and Mr. Gladstone? (Cheers.)
Mr. J. S. WRIGHT, vice-:president of the Cham-
ber of Commerce, seconded the nomination.
Mr. J. D. GOODMAN, partner of the late member,
Mr. Scholefield, nominated Mr. Sampson Samuel
Lloyd, Liberal Conservative. Do you want (he said)
a man of true patriotism, of unflinching integrity ?
Mr. Lloyd is the man. (Hear, hear.) Do you want
a man of eminent talents? Mr. Lloyd is the man.
(Hear, hear.) Do you want a man of true inde-
pendence—who will be faithful to the high trust
which this day by a large majority you will impose
upon him ? Mr. Lloyd is the man for Birmingham.
(Cheers.) .
Mr. JOHN GRAHAM, J.P., merchant, seconded the
nomination of Mr. Lloyd. _ - -

cused of being a candidate repudiated by all shades a
Liberals in this town. I have only to point, in
answer to this, to the two honourable men, well
known in Birmingham, who have done me the hon-
our to propose and second me this day. The names
of those gentlemen are a triumphant answer to such
a contemptible charge. I was an active supporter of
Mr. Acland in-1859, and the prominent point of Mr.
Acland's political creed was the advocacy of a £6
franchise. I have worked as well as I could for free
trade, and I have laboured for the reform of our
commercial laws. I have laboured for the reform of
the law of debtor and creditor. I have supported my
friend and opponent, Mr. Dixon, and my friend and
proposer Mr. J. D. Goodman, in their endeavours
to reform the law of partnership. (Hear, hear.)
Having now disposed, I trust, of those misrepresen-
tions, I would state in a few words the principles on
which I seek your suffrages. lam a Birmingham
man, born and bred, and I trust I have from large
experience made myself well acquainted with your
commerce, with your social, commercial, and educa-
tional wants. If you send me to Parlianient I shall
make it my conscientious duty, to the best of my
ability, to make those wants one of my chief con-
cerns. (Cheers.) I am, as respects the Reform Bill,
as I have told you, in favour of a further redistribu-
tion of seats, and I shall vote for any measure which
I think honestly calculated to effect that object,
whether the bill come from one side of the house or
the other. I have told you that lam in favour of
exempting every person from the payment of church
rates who can be ascertained to object to pay those
rates on religious and conscientious grounds. (Hear,
hear.) I am anxious to reform every abuse which
can be proved to exist in the National Church of
England or Scotland or of Ireland. (Hear, hear.) I
have told you before that I am not prepared to con-
fiscate the property of the Church of England or of
Scotland merely to gratify the jealousies of an alien
priesthood, or to do what is called separating the
Church from the State. So long as the Church of
England is distinctively Protestant in her character,
so long, I believe, she will be an invaluable insti-
tution to the people of this country. If ever a
time comes when she forfeits that character, which
I trust God may ever avert, she will have forfeited
all claims to be any longer the established church
of these realms, and I shall cease to think her estab-
lishment a national advantage. (Hear, hear.) lam
an advocate for the extension of the Factories Act
to Birmingham. lam against any interference on
the part of the law with the right of working men to
I meet together and combine for any lawful purpose
' whatever ; but I repudiate and reprobate, as I know
the working men in this town do, the abominable
outrages which have taken place in Sheffield. Fellow-
townsmen, my principles are fully before you, as
they have been explained at ward meetings through-
out the town. I come before you under no false
colours, and I am determined never to sail under
any. If you think my principles and abilities are
such as to unfit me to fairly represent the opinions
of the majority of you, then I trust you will elect
some one else and not support me ; but if my
opinions do fairly represent the opinions of the
majority of you, and you come to the conclusion
' that on the whole I am the fittest man to represent
you in Parliament, then I ask you, in the name of
the welfare of our country and the credit of our
town, in the name of independence and of freedom,
to vindicate that independence, and to support freely
and fully the man who represents you, and to vote
for him and to work for him. I believe that to-
morrow I shall be returned as your representative.
One thing I am determined upon, and that is that
I will never sail under any false colours, or make
any false pretences. My great desire is to act ac-
cording to my conscience, and if I hays the honour
to represent you, it will be as a free representative,
freely chosen, of a free and enlightened people.
(Cheers.)
The show of hands having been taken, the Mayor
declared it to be in favour of Mr. George Dixon,
the Liberal candidate.
The disorderly proceedings concluded with a vote
of thanks to the Mayor.

CAMBRIDGE UNIN ERSITY.

CAMBRIDGE, Monday.

The re-election of Mr. Selwyn took place here
this morning in the Senate House, the Vice-Chan-
cellor presiding. The whole of the authorities would
appear to have returned for the election, but the at-
tendance of members of the Senate was but scanty.
After the usual formalities and the expiration of the
statutable time Mr. Selwyn was declared re-elected
without opposition, and the right hon. gentleman,
who was present, received the warm congratulations
of his friends.