The Sun.
London, England, 1835-11-13 00:00:00

WARD OF ALDGATE.

Last night a very numelous and respectable nveting of
ele Ward of Alcigate, took place at the Saracen'3 Head,

for the purpose of making such arrangements as might best
promote the election of Mr. Sheriff Salomons to the vacant.

Mdermanship of that Ward.
Mr. MACJUN took the chair, and at the request of the
meeting -called upon Mr. Sheriff Salomons to explain to
them what his line of public conduct would be, in the event
_ _

of his being elected. -
Mr. SALompNs observed that it WAS well known that he
had ever beena warm friend of civil and religious liberty,

and if elected to the high and honourable office now vacant,
he should discharge its duties in such a manner as would,
he hoped, give satisfaction to all parties. He considered
the present as an opportimity for promoting the equaliza-
tion of civil rights, and the removal of those distinctions
which bad so long prevailed, separating man from his
fellow-man, and placing absurd and unjust restrictions upon
their commercial and political relations.—(Cheers.) If it

:I,;;ldbeshis good fortune to be elected, he should know
no distinction of sect, party or religion, and if at_any time

his conduct should give dissatisfaction to the Wrd, or
if he should find the duties of the office more
onerous than was consistent with his other avocations,
he should cheerfully resign it.—(llear.) With respect to
reSilence, either himself or some qualified person would
be always accessible to the inhabitants of the Ward ; and
he should be ready:at all times to call meetings upon any
subject in which the inhabitants were interested. It was
not his opinion, as he believed it was that of some persons,
to consider that the peace of society could be best preserved
by preventing public meetings. On the contrary, he would
always promote, as far as lay in his power, the free expres-
sion of public opinion.—(Cheers.)
Mr. C. PE ARSON, being then called upon to state his
opinion, as to whether there was anything in the objccton
started that Mr. Salomons could not take the office, said
that he felt some deliCacy in addressing the meeting, lest it
might be construed into an attempt; on his part, to inter-
fere with the freedom of election in the ward ; but having
been so called upon, he should confine himself strictly to
the subject proposed, leaving the Ward to manage its own
affairs in its own way. There was, in his opinion, no diffi-
culty in taking the corporate oaths, as the principle that re-
gulated the administration of the oaths to the Sheriff, regu-
lated that of Alderman.—(Hear.) The oaths of a freeman
were administered on the Old Testament, and it was so

with the corporate oaths of the Sheriff and Aldermen—
there being no interference in such cases with the rights of
conscience. It would be absurd to suppose that the Cor-
poration of the city of London would have evinced so nar-
row a spirit of liberality as to admit those of the Jewish
persuasion to the freedom of the city only, while it refused
them the enjoyment of its higher and more honourable
offices. Some difficulties might be supposed to arise out
of the declaration, which, on the repeal of the Test
and Corporation Acts, had been substituted for the eccle-
siastic test. The provisions of the Bill passed in July last,
dispensed with that declaration at the present period, and
a Bill of indemnity was annually passed, which, having
prospective as well as retrospective operation, carried over
the exemption from year to year. Sheriffs of counties,
civil and military officers of every rank and station-, were
by the strict construction of the statute, called upon to
make, the declaration at the quarter sessions, lie had