The Sun.
London, England, 1835-05-01 00:00:00

ASHTON-UNDER-LYNE.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
S►a,--Our borough is one of those which arose from that
key to future Improvements, the Reform Bill ; consequently
we are young in the duties required from Constituents ; but I
think we have not done amiss for our first election. We re-
turned a Member said to be a long-tried Reformer ; it is true
we were in some measure deceived in him as to his votes last
Session on the 20,000,0001. to the slave-owners and the Factory
Bill, but speaking generally we might have chosen a much
worse Reformer. So far as the present Parliament has ad-
vanced he has done his duty ; but the moment he swerves
from it he will lose the confidence of the electors of this place,
for no man can be returned for this borough but one of the
most liberal principles. The Tories are bordering on mad-
ness, and though assisted by a few strange converts from
Radicalism, yet all their efforts are Lilliputian, except in hole-
and-corner matters. In no part of the kingdom have scarcely
any of the Tory memorials to Sir Robert Peel emanated from
public meetings. Let his Majesty look at this, and also at the
numerous public meetings held by the opposite party, who
were not ashamed or afraid of broad day-light, because their,
motives and their deeds were dictated by conscience. Look
at the number of signatures to the Liberal Addresses, and the
rapidity with which they were obtained : that of our own little
borough mustered near 4,000 in little more than nine hours I
This fact speaks vollimes " of the pressure from with-
out." There is a subject that has given the Tories a
sad blow here, and for which we have had heaped upon
us every kind of abuse. We have established a Re-
form Committee, on a resolution passed at a dinner of
Non-electors, given in honour of our Representative, at
which the amazing number of 640 dined in one room. The
duties of this body were to communicate every possible infor-
mation to our member, and to receive the earliest intimation
on interesting questions from him in return ; to get up peti •
tions ; to look after the due registration of voters, both of the
county and borough in our parish ; in fact, to forward every
measure of Reform. This Committee was elected by a pub-
lic Meeting, consisting of 25 electors and 25 non-electors. Now
what is there wrong in this ? And yet we are abused by the
Tories, called a set of dictators, shacklers of free opinion, and
a disgrace to our Representative, who, they say, only repre-
sents the Committee ; and this in the face of their own Con-
servative clubs, formed in every place where two or three can
be gathered together, and whose language is nothing but dic-
tation. I sincerely wish our Reform Committee was imitated
in every borough represented in the British Parliament, as I
am persuaded that such committees are most useful to the
good cause, and the best proof of it is, that we have the
curses of the Tories, which, in such a case, are blessings. So
far from our's being a dictating. Committee, we have not known
how our Member would vote in any instance, until after the
vote was given. To such a Committee our worthy Member
not only agreed, but warmly solicited it to be formed. I have
to apologise for intruding at such length on the space of your
valuable Paper, of which the rapidity of communication is de-
serving the praise and support of every Reformer.
SUM QUOD FECI.
Ashton-under-Tyne, April 26, 1833.