The Sun.
London, England, 1835-01-15 00:00:00

the right hon. gentleman. r:fearlessly take up the'gauntlet
which he has thrown down—l boldly accept the challenge
which he has given—l rebut the charge.—(Cheers.) I
have denied it publicly on a preceding day—l have answered
a letter which was addressed to me in the newspZTers
—and I deny again, as distinctly, that such proceed-
ings, if they exist at all, exist either with my knowledge, or by
my authority.—( Cheers.) Allow me to add, with respect to
what fell from the Right Hon. Gentleman, that it was scarcely
handsome in him to hold forth at such comparative length on
this subject, and then to end with saying that ho himself did
not believe the charge.—( Great cheers, followed by cries of
" No, no," from Mr. Abercromby's party.) I appeal to the
cheers which followed the end of that speech, if such was not
the inference that might be drawn from his words. I beg to
condole with that gentleman on the pain which he says the
subject caused him, which did not seem to be very great, con-
sidering the stoical indifference with which he entered into
lengthened disquisition on the subject. I believe the Hon.
Gentleman acquits me from the charge—(" Certainly")—and
my hon. friend.—(" Certainly.") If Igo to Parliament, I
shall go with as conscientious a determination to remove every
thing which bears the semblance of wrong, to amend every
thing that has the shadow of an abuse, as either of those Hon.
Gentlemen. I am happy to find that in all the speeches
which I have been able to hear, the only fault alleged against
me is that I am a young man.—( Cries of " You are a Tory.")
It is true that I am young, but I ask you whether it is more
likely that the toil and labour which the duties of a Member of
Parliament imposes will be discharged less efficiently by a
young man than by a servant who is not in the flower of his
age. And now I pray you again to contrast us with our op-
ponents. Of my Hon. Friend it will not be said he is a
stranger to you. The gentlemen on my right claims the
honour of representing you ; and on what ground ? One of
them was a number of years ago born in Scotland, and he has
twice appeared before you in twelve months. On the first
occasion he claimed your support, because he was the
Attorney-General, and supported the Government, and in the
course of twelve months he appears before you again, his only
reason for your support being that he is not Attorney-General,
and that he does not support the Government. I will not de-
tain you longer. This being my first trial, and in the metro-
polis of my native country, I did expect something more like
fair play than this conduct. But the fault does not rest with
me—the shame rests with you.
Mr. LEARMONTH—I now come forward as the supporter of
his Majesty's Government—upon no false pretence of reform,
upon no pretence of giving more reform than is necessary for
the good of the country ; but I come forward determined to
give true reform; and determined to effect the removal of all
abuses and blots in the Constitution so soon as a calm con-
sideration shall prove them to exist. Our honourable oppon-
ents hate the Government at present in existence, and there-
fore they wish to see it upset ; but I trust you will believe me
when I say that in my heart and conscience I am convinced
that the present Government are more decided and honest
Reformers than the last.—( Cheers.) We have the first man
in the country at the head of this Government—the King has
pledged himself to Reform—the Premier's word is pledged to
Reform—and the immortal Duke of Wellington—( Great
cheering and groans)—is also pledged to Reform, and who
will dispute the honour and integrity of his word ?—( Cheers. )
I have already alluded to the fall of the Whig Cabinet, be-
cause it divided against itself ; and with regard to two honour-
able opponents, I would ask how can they stand, for they are
divided against each other ; although they profess to be united,
Ido not know that they hold two opinions in unison—for in-
stance, Mr. Abercromby states that the City Clergy shouldbe
reduced to thirteen ; but Sir John Campbell has expressed no
such opinion, at least as far as I know. Again, Sir
John Campbell's opinion is, that the Roman Catholic
clergy of Ireland should receive pay from the Government
of a similar description to the regzum donum—but I believe
this opinion is not entertained by Mr. Abercromby. How,
then, can they act together ? Is this the United Cabinet ?
Split at the very outset-4 Laughter and cheers)—whereas
the Noble Lord and I are united in our opinions upon every
subject, so far as I know. We are decidedly opposed to the
payment of the Roman Catholic Clergy in Ireland, and deter-
mined to ul hold all our institutions in Church and State. The
Sheriff then came forward and called for a show of hands, first
for Mr. Abercromby, and afterwards for the other candidates.
He declared the show of hands to be in favour of Mr. Aber-
cromby and Sir John Campbell, and a poll being demanded,
he appointed Tuesday and Wednesday, for the two polling
days.