The Sun.
London, England, 1835-10-21 00:00:00

By THE

NON-ELECTORS OF IVIGAN.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)
On Monday, the 19th, a public dinner was given t
Richard Potter, Esq., the liberal Member for the Borougl
of Wigan, in the large room of the Commercial Hall. More
than 300 persons sat down to dinner, as many as the room
would comfortably accommodate, or nearly as many tickets
more might have been disposed of.
The dinner, although given by the non-electors, was
attended by a great number of the liberal electors of the
Borough. -
J. S. HERON, Esq., in the Chair.
The Vice-Presidents were—Reech Bevan, John Fogg
Taylor, and I'. Collison, Esqrs.
Amongst the Company were Mark Phillips, Esq., M.P.
for Manchester ; and Joseph Brotherton, Esq., M.P. for
Salford. •
After the King and the other preliminary toasts had been
given, and appropriate glees by three professional gentlemen
from Manchester—
Mr. W. JACKSON, a weaver, rose and said—Mr. Chair-
Man, I rise for the purpose of asking you permission, Sir,
to allow me to give a toast. Gentlemen and Fellow Towns-
men, the toast that I have the honour to introduce to your
notice, will, I feel confident, be hailed with satisfaction in
every quarter of this room—particularly when I tell you
that I am about to toast our worthy guest Richard Potter,
Esq.—( Applause.) But previous to my doing so, I trust
you will bear with me for a moment, whilst I preface the
toast by a few brief observations on that gentleman's public
conduct. Mr. Potter's earliest connection with us as a
public man, was marked by an act of generosity very rarely
to be met with in modern times—(Applause)--and which
I am sure cannot be easily forgotten-4Never)—for when I
look back, Sir, to the history of our eventful proceedings in
the eventful year 1830, and reflect upon the disinterested
manner in which Mr. Potter came forward to aid our hum-
ble endeavours to open this borough, I for one, Gentlemen,
cannot forget the feelings of exultation with which he was
received upon that occasion—feelings, Sir, that did
honour to the inhabitants of Wigan at that.day.—(Cheers.)
When we called him to our assistance we had not the most
distant prospect that we should ever be able to reward him,
and although we did not succeed in obtaining our object, yet
this does not detract one iota from the merits of the gene-
rous action.—(Cheers.) And I contend that so long as
Mr. Potter strictly adheres to his present political principles
and while health permits—so long are we in duty bound to
return him as one of our representatives, as a reward for the
gratuitous services which he rendered us at the period which
I have mentioned.—(Great applause.) When the sun-
beams of Reform had sufficiently expanded to admit of a
probability of Mr. Potter's being returned to Parliament, I
must say that then the electors of Wigan gave an earnest of
their honest intentions. At that time it became necessary
for candidates seeking the suffrages of the electors
to publish a kind of political catechism, detailing the views
they entertained upon the respective measures likely to
come under discussion in the Reformed Parliament. Mr.
Potter's address to the electors of Wigan is now before me,
and if his previous conduct, and this exposition of his pub-
tical principles, were considered a sufficient guarantee for
your returning him to Parliament„, how much more are you
now his debtor, when he has fulfilled those promises even
to the very letter ?—(Cheers.) The urbanity with which
the Hon. Gentleman has treated me during the frequent
correspondence I have had with him, convinces me that he
will be ever ready to lend a favorable ear to any reasonable
suggestions that the non-electors of Wigan may think pro-
per to lay before him, and that he will advocate their claims
for a redress of grievances in the House of Commons to the
utmost of his ability.—(Great applause.) Gentlemen, Mr.
Potter's parliamentary conduct as a public man is before
you. His assiduous attention to his parliamentary duties,
the votes which he has given on every liberal -nieasure that
has come before the House of Commons, together with the
fulfilment of his promises, all combine to render him every
way worthy of the humble tribute of respect which we arc
ma, together to pay to him this day. I-now trust, Gen-
tlemen, that you will all rise, and cordially join with me in
toasting " Richard Potter, Esq., our worthy Representa-
tive—the zealous advocate of Economy, Retrenchment, and
Reform," in a bumper, and with three times three cheers.
After silence was restored, the Hon. Member rose and
spoke to the following effect :
Mr. POTTIIR-1 beg most cordially to thank you for the
manner in which you have received the announcement of
my name, and to express the great gratification I feel at
meeting you on this occasion.—(Cheers.) The circum-
stances of this dinner having first originated with the work-
ing class, and the invitation to me to attend it being signed
so numerously, at once determined me to accept it. In
the invitation, you were pleased to express your approbation
of my conduct during the last Session of Parliament. I
assure you I am much gratified that my humble Worts
have met your approval. The approbation of one's fellow-
citizens is the greatest reward a public man can receive.—
(Great applause.) I am glad you are attentive observers
of the proceedings of Parliament ; and sure I aril, that the
more the attention of all classes of the people is directed
to the conduct of both Houses of Parliament, the more
likely are the Members of those Houses to discharge their
respective duties with advantage to the country and credit
to themselves.—(Cheers.) Before the election took place
for this borough, in January last, I published an address,
which detailed at some length the way in which I had voted
on the important measures which had come before Parlia-
ment, during the Sessions of 1833 and 1834. That ad-
dress was extensively distributed, and every person who
wished had an opportunity of perusing it. I mention this
circumstance as a reason why I do not intend, on the pre-
sent occasion, to advert much to those periods ; but in the
few remarks I intend to offer, I will confine them to
the Session of Parliament just terminated. When I entered
the House of Commons on the 19th of Feb. last, the appear-
ance of the House was to me a melancholy spectacle. In vain
I looked for numbers of those with whom I had, during
the Sessions of 1833 and 1834, been in the habit of con-
stantly acting and voting, and on the most intimate and
friendly terms ; but I was consoled by the reflection that
their elections had not been lost because they had been un-
faithful to the trust reposed in them, but on account of th©
intimidation, bribery, and treating which had been practised
at the last general election to a most alarming and dan-
gerous extent. In proof of which, I would refer to an
article in the Spectator of the 7th of February last, headed
" Bribery and Intimidation of Electors—Case for a Na-
tional Inquest."—( Hear.) It is a most shameful and dis-
gusting detail ; besides which, great numbers of persons in
several counties were registered who had no right to vote.
This proceedin,, had been practised in our county, for at the
termination of the labours of the revising barristers at
Liverpool, in October last, Mr. Greenwood said,—" In
South Lancashire many hundred persons would appear on
the register this year, whose right to the franchise, if in-
quired into, would, he firmly believed, turn out to have no
foundation whatever in law."—(Hear.) 1 cordially agree
with the writer of this article that the ballot is the only
radical cure for those nefarious practices—(Loud applause)
—and I earnestly hope the period is not far distant when
the electors of the United Empire will have the protection
of the ballot. I have already given my votes in favour of
the ballot on all occasions when that question has been be-
fore the House. It has been said, and I confess I believe
the statement, that at least one million of money was ex-
pended by the Tories at the last General Election. Finding
that we had lost so many Liberal and Reform Members, we at
once discovered, that by forming a firm bond of union
we should become able to compete with our political
opponents, drive them from power, and replace the Mi-
nistry of Lord Melbourne—(Cheers)—in which the coun-
try was confiding for good and salutary Measures being
submitted to Parliament. But lam here to justify the
conduct of the Liberal Members of the House of Com-
mons, even if their object in so uniting together had
only been to deprive the Tories of power. For how was
that power to be obtained? Why, by the dismissal of
Lord Melbourne's Government with far less ceremony than,
I will venture to say, any gentleman would dismiss the
most humble person in his service. It was, therefore, ne-
cessary that the secret advisers of his Majesty, and even
his Majesty himself, and I speak it without any disrespect,
should understand—for the truth should occasionally be
told to Monarchs—(Cheers---that a Ministry in posses-
sion of the full confidence of the House of Commons and of
the country, was not to be removed in such manner with
impunity.—(Cheers.) The Commons of the United E'm
pire, in my judgment, did well to express their opinions Of
that transaction, and I trust that time will never arrive,
when a Ministry can remain in power, who do not possess
the confidence of Parliament.—(Applause.) I must say
that Sir Robert Peel acted very properly in at once re-
tiring, when he found a majority of the House of Com-
mons was against him, though he possessed, as he stated,
the full confidence of his Sovereign.—(oh, oh.) But it
has repeatedly been said--why not give the Right Hon. Ba-
ronet a fair trial ? Before that question is answered, I ask
~-.why had not the Government of Lord Melbourne a fair
trial q That Noble Lord only. eqmp into paw" a short
tme before the close of the Session of 1534, He began
his career, as the First Minister of State, under the most
favourable auspices—several timid men had resigned, and
I believe their resignation was satisfactory to the country,
for they seemed afraid to let the people have the
full advantage of the Reform Act, and refused to
sanction the settlement cf the Irish Church (lug"
Ofint op tem --vitisractqry tq that pintry-..-At ivas
the refusal tp appropriate the stirphis rpvenfies pf the
Church of Ireland,
which was the immediate Cause of the
resignation of the Peel Ministry. I am ready to admit