The Sun.
London, England, 1859-04-28 00:00:00

the right of voting to every intelligent working
man who wished to obtain it. (Cheers.) He was
not prepared to support the ballot. (Cheers, and
some groans.) Public opinion had put down duel
ling, and he believed it was checking, and would
put an end to, the existing evils of intimidation.
He was prepared to support any reform measure
that would settle the question to the satisfaction of
the people of England. (Applause.) He would
put an end to the compulsory payment of church
rates by dissenters. (Applause.) As to the threat-
ened war, he thought that England should stand
aloof from all entangling alliances ; but as our great
object should be to secure peace as soon as possible,
we should observe an armed neutrality, so as to be
able to maintain our own power and safety against
any attacks. (Cheers.) He was ready to relin-
quish the appointment he now held, if he thought
there were fair prospects of support from the elec-
tors ; but he could hardly be expected again to
relinquish an appointment upon the ground of a
hope that was not likely to be fulfilled. (Hear,
hear.) In the present state of things he did not
feel able to support any existing party, and his
motto would be " Measures not men." (Cheers.)
Captain DENMAN subsequently rose and said,
that having been informed by the chairman of the
all but unanimous adoption of a resolution in his
favour before he entered the room, he was ready to
state that he was a candidate, and would go to the
poll. (Loud cheers, followed by " Three for the
navy.")
Mr. C. E. CAWLEY moved, and Mr. PEEL seconded
a motion pledging the meeting to use its utmost
endeavours to return Capt. Denman, which was
passed almost unanimously, awl the meeting shortly
afterwards terminated.
The executive committee for the return of Mr.
Turner announce that having observed symptoms of
coalition with Mr. Hey-wood's friends on the part of
Mr. Bazley's committee, they will give every assist-
ance in their power to Capt. Denman's committee.
Hitherto there has not been much excitement in
the city, but it will no doubt be greatly augmented
during the few days that remain for the contest.

DOVER.

On Tuesd-y evening Mr. Bernal Osborne ad-
dressed a large and enthusiastic meeting of the
electors of Dover, held in the Maison Dieu Hall, at
which upwards of 2,000 persons were present.
Mr. OSBORNE, who was greeted with much en-
thusiasm, said,—l stand before you a candidate for
the borough of Dover on clear and distinct princi-
ples ; I have expounded my creed—(hear, hear)—
and it is not too much for me to ask—What are the
principles of my opponents ? (Hear, hear.) They
come to this constituency of Dover, which has al-
ways respired any man who asked for their votes
to explain his principles—(hear, hear)—and to this
day you are almost in ignorance of what they pro-
fess. For the life of me I cannot find that Sir H.
Leeke professes any one principle. Probably,
having before his eyes the promises of Devonport,
and no doubt remembering the proverb of a certain
French cynic who held that " we promise according
to our hopes and perform according to our fears,"
he comes to Dover and tells us that it is impossible
for him, in his situation, to promise anything.
(Hear.) He goes on to allude to the magnificent
fleet he introduced in his other speech—(hear, and
a laugh)—and then informs his hearers that Dover
has a fine harbour, but that it ought not to be a
" tidal harbour." Ido not know how he can pre-
vent that. Admirals can do a great deal—(a laugh)
—but I am unable to imagine how he can prevent
that. And, mind, he promises to do nothing.
(Hear.) He then goes on to say that as he was
walking through the town in the course of his can-
vass he was much struck with the squalor and
wretchedness which met him in some of the back
lanes. I think he might have been as much struck
with the squalor and wretchedness of Devonport,
and that if he wanted to do good he might have
stayed there and have done it. (Hear, hear.)
But this is literally the whole of the declaration
of principles made by my opponent, and he comes
before a constituency like Dover and calls that
an exposition of his political sentiments ! I
dismiss the senior candidate fof the present
and come to his coadjutor. If we know but
little of the politics of Sir Henry Leeke we must
do Mr. Nicol the justice to say that we know
somewhat more, although a very little more, of
his. Mr. Nicol tells us that 22 years ago he stood
as a Protestant for the town of Youghal. It is
rather a vague kind of recommendation, standing
as a Protestant, and it reminds me of the charity
boy who, being examined, and asked what his god-
fathers and godmothers did for him, said they took
his sins upon them, but that he was to be drawn
for the militia. (Laughter.) BUt upon what does
Mr. Nicol standhere ? Not upon his Protestantism.
If I know anything of the matter he stands as a
director of the London and County Bank. He is
going to " makr thing." pleasant" to certain gentle.
men, and I understand that one of the persons can-
vassing for him is the solicitor to the London and
County Bank. Several of the shareholders, how-
ever, are not pleased at this. This establishment
has already obtained some notoriety, not in relation
to the Protestant interest, although connected with
Ireland—(a laugh)—and the shareholders are not
desirous of encountering fresh troubles. (Hear,
hear.) But why are either of these gentlemen here P
Why, in default of an exposition of their principles,
do they come before you ? Captain Carnegie has
published a letter, and what does Captain Carnegie
say ? That Sir John Pakington told him he had
"no option," but must come to Dover. Why was
Captain Carnegie dismissed ? Not because he would
not go into Parliament—because he offered to go to
another seat. " But," said Sir John Pakington and
Lord Derby, " you have no option ; you must go to
Dover." " No," returns Captain Carnegie, " I will
not go to Dover, because I cannot succeed there
except by trying means I will not condescend to
adopt." (Loud cheers.) A board seems to have been
put over the Admiralty like that which is frequently
seen at the Horse Guards—" Wanted a few stout
recruits." (Laughter.) In the Admiralty are
wanted a few juvenile members of Parliament of
whom junior lords may be made. Sir Henry
Leeke, we know, has " no option ;" and that, per-
haps, is the reason for his appearance. (A laugh.)
Admiral Leeke, K.C.B. K.H., comes here with still
another order round his neck—the order of the
" millstone."
" Admirals rush in where captains fear to tread."
I was amused the other night in the House of Com-
mons to hear Sir John Pakington, with a Pecksni-
ffian and Pharisaical piety—(laughter)—talking
about the " honour of our public men." He said in
the house of Commons, but it was before this was
found out—(a laugh)—that the honour of our public
men is "not what it used to be." I echo that sen-
timent. (Hear, hear.) The honour of our public
men is not what it used to be; and I will defy any
man to put his hand on a period of our history
when a First Lord of the Admiralty is found com-
pelling his officers not to serve the State in their
profession, but, as a sine qua non, to go. to a borough
and get returned as its representative in Parliament,
although told that such a return could not be pro-
cured by fair and honourable means. (Loud cheers.)
We have heard some talk of " reconstructing the
fleet ;" but we have another job before us—we must
first reconstruct the Admiralty. (Hear and laugh-
ter.) This kind of proceeding at the Admiralty is
no new thing. In 1853 a committee of the House
of Commons sat to inquire into the dockyard ap-
pointments and the practice of the Admiralty
during the election of 1852, when Lord Derby was
last in office ; and the report of that committee
shows how foul were the transactions that took
place in the dockyards, and how great the compul-
sion put on men to make them vote, from the use
of the Admiralty for electioneering purposes. When
I succeeded to the Admiralty I found the dockyards
in complete disorganisation from the power that
had been used by the Government in making ap-
pointments ; and what did Ido ? (Hear.) I per-
suaded Sir Charles Wood to issue the following
order :
" My Lords have therefore determined to transfer the re-
sponsibility of the first entry of all artificers and labourers
to this officer in each yard, and trust that in so doing they
will have his active co-operation in watching closely that
no workmen be admitted but such as are in all respects the
best to be obtained for her Majesty's service."
That was my part in endeavouring to put an end
to intimidation and bribery in the dockyards.
(Cheers.) But what does this Government propose in
1859, while this order is still in force—for they
dare not abrogate it whatever they may
wish.
The Government of 1859 came down to the House
of Commons with a bill which proposed to disfran-
chise all those dockyard men. (Hear, hear.) You
have all probably seen the Queen's Speech ; but,
although I had seen it, I was until last night in
some difficulty to find out why Parliament had been
dissolved. (Hear, hear.) Sir John Pakington last
night at the Mansion-house gave a reason, and it is
the first I have yet heard given. Sir John Paking-
ton, like the frog in the fable, swelling if not into
the dimensions, yet with the spirit of a bull in a
china shop, said that " The last Parliament was a
China Parliament, and therefore it ought to be
broken." And that was the reason given at the
Mansion-house for dissolving Parliament on the
eve of a Reform Bill and a European war. But
what else is given ? Why, we have lived to see the
Queen's speech—which we all know is not the
Queen's speech, but the speech of her Ministers--
onlyters—
made the vehicle of election squibbing, T
thing it tells you is that the Parliament is dissolved
to enable the people to express their opinions on
the state of public affairs. (Hear.) Nothing is
said in that speech about confidence in the Minis-
try ; and, if only for one minute, let us pause to see
how that Ministry is composed ? I venture to say
that there never was a Ministry which, with one
or two exceptions, was so ranch below 'par in all