The Sun.
London, England, 1859-10-03 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 3,, 1859.

SOLDIERS-NOT STATUES!

(The Florence Correspondent of the Times.)
The Tuscan Government, thinking it their duty
to labour at the promotion of letters and arts in
this gifted country, which was their cradle, have
issued several decrees, which I think will not be
devoid of interst for English readers.
They have ordered complete editions of the works
of. Machiavello to be edited at the public expense,
by Canettrina and Polidori, two distinguished
scholars, under the direction of the Home Minister.
They have decreed that six statues shall be cast in
bronze; two for Florence, to be erected in the
Piazza Barbano. alias Piazza Maria Antonia, alias
Piazza del Indipendenza (a magnificent new square,
destined, it would seem, to bear as many names as
the Place de la Concord in Paris), in honour of
Napoleon 111. and Victor Emmanuel 11. ; two for
Leghorn, one to Charles Albert, the other to Victor
Emmanuel of Sardinia ; one for Lucca, of Fran-
cesco Barlamacchi, a Lucchese patriot, " first mar-
tyr of the cause of Italian independence ;" one for
Sienna, in honour of Sallustio Banditti, "the founder
of the theories on economical freedom ;" finally, one
for Pisa, gi Leonardo Fibonnacci, "the restorer of
algebraic sfudies in Europe;" the statues of the Em-
peror and of the King in Florence to be ornamented
by bas-reliefs, illustrating the events of the late
Lombard war.
Besides these sculptural works four historical
pictures are to be painted, the subjects of which are
to.be supplied by great events in ancient and mo-
dern Italian history. The modern subjects are the
voting of the decheance of the Austro-Lorraine
dynasty by the Tuscan National Assembly and the
reception by Victor Emmanuel 11. of the deputies of
the said Assembly, bearers of the vote for the an-
nexation of Tuscany to the great and strong north
Italian kingdom. Besides these, four ba_ght..pieces
celebrating
the encounters of Curtatone in 1848,
Palestro, Magenta, and San Martino, and four
more, quadri di costume, characteristic pieces repre-
senting different episodes of the late war, and six
portraits of illustrious Italians, deceased within the
last ten years, and well deserving of the country as
promoting by their writings the triumph of the na-
tional cause. These are Vincenzo Giobertia, Cesare
Balbo, Carlo Troya, Giovanni Berchet, Silvio Pel-
lico, and Giuseppe Giusti.
The engravets will have to execute portraits of
Victor Emmanuel and of the poet Gio-Battista
Niccolini. These two works are severally allotted
to Professors Gustavo Bonaini and Filippo Levi.
The engraving of all the statues and pictures above-
Mentioned, as well as the works themselves will be
assigned by free competition to such artists as may
apply for them.
May be I am a Goth, but I cannot dissemble my
opinion that the Tuscan and other Central Italian
Governments might be better employed, and might
lavish public money on objects more immediately
connected with what ought to be the sole business
of the country. The Italians have had fiddling and
dancing and stone-cutting enough. Art and litera-
ture Ere at the lowest ebb in Italy, and will be
until the country rises to a new existence. I hear
of deputations making merry at patriotic feasts at
Milan and Turin—loudly declaring that " Italy is
made." I wish their inner conviction were as firm
as their words are cheerful and brave, and should

like their faith to be borne out by corresponding
deeds. A perpetual holiday is now being kept
throughout every city for a success which, to cool
men, seems yet tolerably doubtful. I think, until
the Italians know the decision of either a meeting
between the two Emperors at Biarritz or Com-
piegne, or of a Congress at Brussels, as to their ul-
timate fate, or until they are strong enough to
make out their destinies against all Emperors and
all Congresses, it behoves them rather to go into
mourning than to waste their days in idle feasting
and empty vociferation. Fanti's army is far indeed
as yet from numbering the 50,000 or 60,000 men to
which that brave General wished to have it raised,
and it is further still from being armed and
equipped so as to give it the best possible efficiency.
The bronze of these Tuscan statues were best cast

into cannon, and young artists would do well to
forsake their barren easels for a season's campaign
on the Po or the Rubicon. There will be time
enough for genial banquets and stately monuments.
The memory of great men may be kept greet even
though years may pass over their unhonoured
graves. Dante was no less Dante in spite of the long
neglect of " ungrateful Florence ;" and the Tuscans
may be in as great a hurry in a few months to pull
down the Emperor Napoleon's statues as they are
now eager to rear them. " Lauda finem" should be
the motto. The French Emperor will not give up
his designs, whatever they may be, for any servility
the Italians may evince in doing him honour. They
should leave to old women the thought of pro.
pitiating the powers of evil by lighting farthing
candles to the Arch-fiend. Napoleon can see their
terror through their fulsome homage. It were well

for them to he silent and dignified, if they are not
active—to trust God and their own valour, and

let diplomacy do its worst. Their cause is clear,
indisputable, and holy. Nothing can be gained
by discussion, nothing by straining every sentence
in the Moniteur or the Constitutionnel so as to con-
strue it, in spite of its plainest meaning, accord-
ing to their own heart. They should make a bon-
fire of foreign newspapers and of their own besides.
They should muster up in arms, as many as are able
to bear arms. They will never read a page in the
book of diplomacy in which they will not find the
establishment of the prinCiple that " might is
right." They are now 12,000,000 of united people
and might can be on their side. Let them only
sent forth 200,000 combatants.

PUBLIC DINNER TO WILLI/121f DIGBY
SEYMOUR, ESQ., ALP.

On Thursday evening last Mr. William -Digby
Seymour, one of the members for the borough of
Southampton. was invited by his friends to a pub-
lic dinner at Pratt's Riding School, Bedford-place.
The room had been decorated under the superin-
tendence of Mr. Josiah Puntis, a silk banner being
placed on the wall over the principal table, on
which were the words "Presented to William Digby
Seymour, Esq., by the Ladies of Sunderland, July,
1852 ;" " Seymour and the Independence of Sun-
derland ;" and in the corners the words " Reform,"
" Retrenchment," .6 Peace," and " Progress ;" the
centre being occupied by Mr. Seymour's family
coat of arms. On the opposite side was exhi-
bited Mr. Seymour's crest, and inscriptions show-
ing the state of the poll at the last election for
Southampton. At the north end of the room was

a banner bearing the inscription, " Digby Seymour
and the Triumph of Liberty," interspersed with
English, French, American, and Turkish colours.
A little higher up was " Welcome to our Guests and
Honour to our Member," supported by English and
American standards, and garlands of flowers and
laurels. In the centre waved the Royal Standard
and Union Jack, with the French and ,Sardinian
colours, and over the entrance flags of all nations
were displayed. In one part of the room was placed
the inscription, "The Independence of the People,
not the Despotism of Faction."
The dinner, to which admission was by half-
crown tickets, was served by Mr. Parker, Above
Bar, and it appeared to us that about_6oo partook

of it ; but one the Committee of Management
stated that there were 756._ Mr. yarrant, of the

Coachmakers' Arms, supplied the wines and liquors,
and gave ample satisfaction.
A gallery- had been er.dtea, and was devoted-to
the accommodation of the ladies, and an excellent

band, under the superintendence of Mr. W. Purkis,

was in attendance.

The chair was taken at seven o'clock by Dr.
Dusautoy, who was supported on his right by Mr.
Seymour, and on his left by the well-known Pro-
tectionist, Mr. George Frederick Young. With
the exception of a Mr. Hudson, a friend of Mr.
Seymour's, all the gentlemen on the platform live
in Southampton; viz., the Rev. S. M. Innes,
Messrs. J. J. Bennett, H. Abraham, Arthur and

Albin Andrews, Jas. Cocks, J. Tucker, Algeo, and

H. Clarke.

The cloth having been cleared,
The CHAIRMAN read a letter from Mr. J. W.
Whalley, M.P. for Peterborough, who regretted
that he could not leave home to attend the dinner,

but said he felt it to be his duty to bear his testi-

mono to the public character of Mr. Seymour, than
whom he believed there was not in the House of
Commons amore fearless or independent advocate

of public interests, or one more worthy of the great
interests committed to his charge. (Cheers.) He

also read a letter from the Rev. R. Mount.

• Mr. SEYMOUR next read letters of apology 'from
Rear-Admiral Lord George Paulett, who was suffer-
ing from illness; Lord Ashley, who said, " I shall
be glad to come, if I can manage it;" Mr. Edwin
James, who was in Norfolk, grouse shooting ; Mr.
Collier, M.P., who said he would be glad, for many
reasons, if he had been enabled to be present ; and •
Mr. Z. C. Pearson, the Sheriff and Mayor elect of
Hull, who thought Southampton honoured and.
favoured by having such a representative as Mr.
Seymour, who would be the right man as leader of
the shipping interests.
The CHAIRMAN then gave the toasts of " The
Queen," " The Prince Consort and the rest of the
Royal Family," and " The Army and Navy," to
the latter of which Lieut. MORICE, R.N., responded.
The CHAIRMAN next gave " The Clergy and
Ministers of all Denominations," to which the Rev.
S. M. INNES responded, who said he felt proud of
the Church, and he felt honoured in being a mini-
ster of the Church. The Church was, he believed,
the greatest ornament in our land, and the greatest
bulwark of this highly-favoured country. At the
same time he was not Ignorant of its many imper-
fections—(cheers)—ande' the many obligations they
were under to their worthy, respected, and highly-
esteemed Dissenting brethren. He trusted the day
was rapidly coming when bigotry would be swept
away, when charity would be extended to all sects,
and when the right hand of fellowship, friendship,
and Christian feeling would be found prevailing
amongst all. He trusted that the day was draw-
ing nigh when the right men would be found in
the right place, and the right places be found for
the right men ; that our bard working but poor
clergy would be amply, sufficiently, and con-
sistently remunerated ; that talent would be ap-
preciated and 'rewarded astit ought to be ; and
that the great sinecures a the Church would
become the just and rightfUl property of fading
genius, and not the heirlooms;of youthful impotency
—(cheers). He looked to M. Seymour, as the son
of a clergyman, to help to ripply those wants the
Church required, and, if they were not withheld,
the Church of England would become the great
glory of the land, and the! land would be as it
ought to be—
" Great, glorious, and free,
First flower of the earth,
And first gem of the seal
(Hearty cheering.)
The CHAIRMAN said the next toast he had to
propose was the toast of the evening—the object
for which they had assembled together. He should
never forget his first interview with the hon. mem-
ber for Southampton. When he first saw him he
was deeply impressed with the idea that in his
noble constitution were all the elements of one of
the most able and efficient candidates for the repre-
sentation of the town that ever solicited the votes
of any Liberal constituency, and, if he entertained
any opinion of that kind on that occasion, he could
only say that all his votes and all his acts since he
had been the representative of Southampton had
still further confirmed the opinion which he first
entertained of him. When he introduced him in

that place to an assemblage of 2,000 people, the
majority of whom were electors, they entertained
the same opinion, and they showed their inde-
pendence and their freedom from all tyranny and
oppression by electing him by a very large ma-
jority as their representative in the House of Com-
mons. He believed it to be one of the greatest
moral victories ever gained in the town of South-
ampton. Not a single reasonable objection was
made to him when a candidate for • their suffrages
in Parliament. He believed that one or two frivo-

lous objections had subsequently been made to him
--objections which were really not worthy of one
moment's consideration, inasmuch as private mat-
ters never ought to be brought up against any man
when seeking a public duty. (Hear.) They should
look at his capacity, and whether he was a man
capable of representing them in Parliament;
they should look at his political senti-
ments, and not go into any unsuccessful pri-
vate speculation, which he did say cast the greatest
possible reflection on the opposition on that occa-
sion. He really did not think it worth while to
enter into the matter, and he hoped and trusted
that the member for Southampton would consider
it beneath his notice to take any cognisance of it,
for he thought it mean and contemptible that any
such attempt should be made to damage a man's
character. Then it was said that Mr. Seymour was
not a wealthy man, but, though his pockets were
not filled with gold, he was bountifully supplied
with nature's richest gifts, and they would have
the benefit of his splendid talents, and his strong
and powerful advocacy, whenever their interests
were attacked in the House of Commons (cheers).
Though Mr. Seymour was not rich, yet he (the
chairman) did not despise a wealthy man, for it was
to the enterprising conduct of men who embarked
their capital in great commercial undertakings that
Southampton was indebted for the splendid pieces
of naval architecture which adorned her waters.
But all this wealth, and all these vessels, would be
of no use if there were not found the artisans of
Southampton to man them, in order that they may
be rendered efficient for service. Now, if they
were united in these matters, not only with regard
to the shipping interest, but the representation of
the town—for he believed that the representation
of the town was entirely in the hand of her artisans
h
—they had only to exert themsolves, and t withelset
him. It was only by their united strength
they
principleswould
they ought to throw
for be enabled
and
which
h
indefatigably
taside
dtheoa
ado (
contended.
o it
petty
carry
a
t et tnnydd
e dot they
considerations,
out
yt
he
otmusthseouh in-
dependently
gighhtra
en
pd r ue
sne i
ht et
etdos bbi ene
ef rotemhe
eli yn naodulesaperegnoedf epncotorl
Commons.
, maanonndds e. ffih
ecri
Southe
resi-
dents sl yi:
ampton wa
dents numbered men connected with the shipping
oci interest, tr ee rf eus: t,
watchingwlo
remunerations e wifneolrtf ahrteeh
Houseeirwoulds e r
ovfireeeqsutiorew Commons,ht hi eha
smt
they
mwianneadorremei
pnaeeelnrinsdetsoei
ntflwte Southampton
dhmi
ac uhleirkx.eishteidmd, i d
Seymourn o t
would
e oc
ue vd e
explaint h a t am o u
then t
tET
represent
pwhile
ntt had
them, they
thaeny
L need never fear that their interests would suffer.
He had given sufficient proof of his ability on all
questions, and it would be the brightest day of his

(the chairman's) existence to sec Mr. Seyniour at
the very top of his profession. They knew that
in the legal profession meritorious conduct had
always been rewarded, and ever would be, and per-
haps it was the only service in this country where
merit, and merit alone, gained the reward to which
its members were so justly entitled, and it would
be the brightest day in his existence t i see their
worthy friend, Mr. Seymour, occupying the dis-
tinguished position of Lord Chancellor of England.
(Laughter, and cheers.) He did, think that he was
justly entitled to that position, for the talent which
he had exhibited was, if possible, far more brilliant
than even the diamonds sparkling in the coronet
which he hoped some day to see gracefully adorn-
ing his intelligent brow. (Laughter, and cheers.)
Without further observations, he begged to pro-
pose the health, of Mr. Seymour, the Member for
Southampton. (Loud cheers.)
Mr. SEYMOUR., M.P., having been greeted with
several rounds of cheering, said that that hall was
dear to him 'from the memory of the past, and
doubly dear from the outspoken and generous en-
thusiasm of the present. It was only the other day
when he stood for the first time in Southampton,
and for the first time in that hall, and, whatever be
his future fate or career, whether short or long be
his connection with this great town and rising
port, he would say to them, and perhaps also to
himself, let their first acquaintance never be forgot.
Let men, when his back was turned, condemn or
criticise him as maliciously as they pleased—let
men point the envenomed dart of secret slander to
overthrow his private reputation as they pleased
—they would not, at all events, deny that in his
intercourse with Southampton, he took the position,
and assumed the attitude of a free-minded Liberal
fellow-citizen. He might have come there with
some introductions. He might have come there ac-
credited by names which would have_ been great
passports to their affections, but, feeling. how in-
finitely humble he was, and how great was the ob-
ject of his ambition—he thought his better plan
would be to come down and speak to them as a man,
to discourse to them on subjects which lifted all men
to a higher and purer sphere, and then to ask them,
not on paltry antecedents, not on personal repre-
sentations or introductions, from whatever quarter
they came, but upon the profession of upright,
clearly announced, manly. Liberal opinions to ask
them for their support. It was said that, at that
time, when he offered himself as a candidate for
their representation, he was sailing under false
eolours—(hear, and no)—but he knew all the time
that he had bright and glorious colours, which, if he
chose to unfold them, would give the lie to his ac-
cusers. (Cheers.) The very first political speech
he ever made in his life was as a candidate for the
representation of Sunderland, and he stood for that
representation an avowed, outspoken, and declared
Liberal of advanced views. The ladies of Sunder-
land—God bless them—gave him, to cheer him in
a battle which was, he assured them, a' severe, a
toilsome, and a hard struggle, the banner they saw
above him, and he asked them to put, on the cor-
ners, the four points of a Radical's creed, Reform,
Retrenchment, Peace, and Progress. Reform was
not advocated by tha men who were brought up in
the lap of Toryism or Conservatism, and what
meant Retrenchment, but that financial reform
which, under the auspices of Messrs. Cobden and
Bright, was likely to win its way from one end of
the land to the other ? What meant Peace, Init
that, consistently with the maintenance of our mili-
tary strength, a proper regard should be paid to
economy in our national expenditure; and what
meant progress, but the combination of all, the
acme, and the favoured word of men determined to
go forward, and forward with the people. Thos
were his sentiments in 1852, and he frankly avowed
them when he came amongst them at Southamp-
ton, for he was not the man to shrink from the ex-
pression of his opinions, and if any one had mis-
understood him, it was not his fault, but their.
Having then alluded to this circumstance, and
called attention to a fact which he hoped never
would be forgotten in their future intercourse, he
preferred building up, from the very foundation,
nis friendship and acquaintance with them. He
was determined that there should be nothing false
about it, but that it should spring from the basis
of all love and affection among mankind, mutual
respect and confidence one with the other. It was
in that spirit he came amongst them, it was in that
spirit that he,made their acquaintance, and actuated
by that spirit he asked to be, and. to continue, their
representative, and when he became forgetful an
unworthy of that spirit, then was the time th t
Southampton should become forgetful of him. The
returned him to Parliament an avowed Liberal, and
he asked, was there any doubt about it? He a -
pealed to those whom he addressed in that hal ,
and in the various meetings which he held in t
town, whether they ever heard from him an u •
terance of two opinions, the one contrasting wit
the other, but whether they were not all, fro
first to last, clear enunciations of a Literal faith
As there was nothing like facing things at one ,
he would come to the only charge which he would
condescend to answer, and would act upon the ad-
vice of the chairman. He would live to see those
—and, let them mark, he had made the prophecy—
who had stabbed him in the dark regret the
course they had taken. He was content
to leave his character to the simple test that
it had stood for years the watchful rivalry of the
most jealous profession in the world, and let people
say what they may, he had never been considere
for one moment unworthy to administer, in t
Queen's name, justice to her subjects. He woul
leave it to this test also. Let any man who cho
to engage in these paltry assaults upon him, onl
single out in his own neighbourhood an hones ,
charitable friend, and ask him what lie thought f
the mode he was taking to spoil him in their affe •
tions, and leave it to his judgment and his learnin ,
and he thought he world be ashamed of himsel

There was only one class of detractor he feared-
and there were some of them in the, town--wh,

with plausible exterior and professed liberality,
the same time dealt in secret attempts to undermii
his character and his reputation (shame). The onl
charge which he said he would reply to he woul'
,
undertake to answer to the satisfaction of every
honest Conservative or Derbyite in Southampton.
The charge was that he had gone into the House cf
Commons, having received a certain amount of Con-
servative sympathy and support, and that he ob-
tained that support by declaring that he would not
give a factious opposition to the Government a
Lord Derby. To begin with the matter at the first
stage, what did they mean by factious opposition P
Each man, by his own conscience, must answer
that question. If he was called upon, as he had
been, to answer it, he would answer it thus—th 4
that man w as a factious man who, in voting for any
minister or for any party, was guided by respect
for the 'man, and not for the measure with whit
he was connected. When, therefore, he was aske
in Sbuthampton whether, in the event of a vote o
want of confidence in Lord Derby being propose ,
what course he would take, his answer was the ,
on that principle, he should certainly give. him
no factious opposition. When Parliament met,
it was found that the outspoken sentiments of
the country, from one end of the kingdom to
the other, were in favour of Reform ; the whol
voice of the nation was for it, and the time ha
come when something clear and decisive must b
done by the Legislature. What would his condue
have been if he had been prepared blindly to con•
nett himself with the party opposed to Lord Derby ''
Would he not have joined clubs and associations,
and attended meetings in rooms and public placeS,
where parties assembled for the purpose of coml-
bining and taking measures together to ensure his
overthrow ? It would have been his natural course
if there had been any truth in the accusation, but
he took no such cour.:e. He left himself open to ob-
servation on the part of the Liberal friends witlf.
whom he had fought and acted in previous Parlia-
ments, and he refused to go to the meeting at
Willis's rooms, which was attended, he believed, by
every Liberal member of sound health and limb in
London that day, himself only excepted. He did
refuse, because he told the people of Southampton
he would give no factious vote against Lord Derby,
and he was determined that by no act orhis should
any suspicion be cast upon him as to the course he
was going to take. Then came his vote on the ad-
dress, which had been considerably animadverted
upon, and he did not complain of it, because he
thought that the public conduct of a public man was
a fair subject for criticism, and he was too fond of
liberty himself to complain of others exercising it,
It was made a charge against him that he had spoken
in that debate in favour of Lord Derby's ministry,
and yet that he had voted distinctly against the
speech he had previously given. Those who said
so said what was without a shadow of foundation,
He held in his hand a book for which he invested
three guineas that morning, for he was determined
for the sake of that expenditure, that he would not
be without a fountain source to which he could ap.
peal. He held in his hand Hansard's reports of the
debates in the last session, and no one would deny
that this was the.highest court of appeal, and to
this every man turned, either in the House or out
of it, to know the utterances of the members.
(Hear, hear.) He had seen several independent

I )1:IcE 4D. STAMPED, SD.

members, who were similarly circumstanced to
himself, particularly one who: now sat for a
port with which he, perhaps, at one time or another,
hcd an intimate connection. had a conversation
with him, and told him distinctly, and he told
others, that if he could receive a satisfactory assur-
ance from' the Government of Lord Derby of such a
measure of Reform as he thought they would them-
selves feel called for by the united voice ,of the
country, and their own professions on the hustings,
he should be prepared to vote with her Majesty's
Ministers. 'He took a course that met with the•ap-
probation of several of the best and most expe-
rienced well-known Liberals, believing it was put-
ting to a fair test the liberality of sentiment and
opinion which they heard from the hustings in the
country. He went down to the house when the de-
bate commenced, and ,watched closely what was
said by the mover and seconder of the address, and
by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, but he found
nowhere the condition he was led to anticipate. He
went to some of those prepared to take the same
course as himself, and found the same feeling of
disappointment, .and one especially said that he
was deceived in his expectations, and saw no course
open to him but that of voting against Ministers.
He (Mr. Seymour) said that he could not give a
silent vote, and should vote with Ministers, unless
he could get a distinct declaration of, opinion fiom
the Opposition, which would make it a question of
principle, and justify his giving a vote against
Lord Derby. He accordingly rose, his speech occu-
pying three columns of Hansard, but a very small
portion of their local press. (Hear.) Having read
extracts from the speech, the substance of which
was published at the time in the Independent, he
asked them whether there was one word ofit incon-
sistent with the position he took in Southampton?
(No and yes). He had read to them a letter from
Mr. Coilier,,_ the member for Plymouth. who said.
that for many reasons he would have been glad to
have been with them. IVhat were the many rea-
sons ? They were these. He had-the pleasure
of enjoying the esteem, and he hoped, the friend-
ship, of that independent Liberal, and talented
representative, a gentleman they all knew and
respected, who belonged to this circuit, and was
one of the most rising men of the day. He suf-
fered gon that night an agony of care, and would
not for all the world again experience the pain
and anxiety he felt whilst he was debating what
course he ought to take in the peculiar position in
which he was placed. He told Mr. Collier that,
although a Liberal, as he knew, although he had
sat with him for three years, and they had worked
together like brethren, and he knew in his heart
tine sentiments by which he was actuated, he could
not, and would not, with an honest conscience, walk
into the same lobby with Lord Palmerston or. Lord
John Russell, unless he had some distinct avowal
from them, which had been denied to him from the
other side, of a declared line of Reform policy. Mr.
Collier communicated with Lord John Russell per-
sonally, and authoritatively brought him more than
one explanation of the public course he might ex-
pect to be taken by her Majesty's oppositiON, if they
came into power. Mr. Collier was not there, and he
was not going to invade the delicate ground of what
was private and confidential, and what was not, but
he contented himself with a retbrence to Mr. Col-

Tier, and setting him before all England as a man
who would vindicate him before any people and
any tribunal as having been actuated by the most
honest sentiments in the course he took. Though
many of the Conservatives of Southampton had
supported him—and he met amongst them those
who, like Capt. Strutt, were among the finest spe-
cimens of liberal and generous-hearted men—he
could not act without experiencing a great deal of
anxiety as to the course he should take. The morn-
ing came, and he was determined to go still fur-
ther, and to satisfy his own mind that, if he gave a
vote, it should be a vote consistent with his political
principles, and a vote which nothing but prejudice
and personal antipathy and dislike could construe
into a departure from the pledges he had given.
He accordingly wrote a letter to Sir Wm. Hayter,
and as he considered there ought to be no privacy
between a member and his constituents on so vital
a question in the history of his country, they were
entitled, unless the express seal of privacy was
stamped upon it, to know what were the guiding
motives and conduct by which he was actuated.
Some people said he had sold his vote, but let them
say whether this correspondence indicated any-
thing of the kind _

[Copyu 2, Doctor Johnson's uildings, Temple,
• Friday Morning, June 10, 1859.
"Dear Sir :William Hayter,—At a crisis like this you
wlll not be offended by me urging the incalculable impor-
tance of a broad declaration as to the future policy beiag
made by Lord John Russell.

".The votes of 'at least ten out of fifteen independenttLi-
berals, on whom Ministers calculate, depend on this. Sup-
pose such an outline as this:—

" Ist—£lo eounty franchise ; £6, at least, borough.
" 2d—Revision of small boroughs, either for electoral
extinction or widening the electoral area.
" 3d—New members to great towns, aeeorcling to popu-
lation.

" 4th—Educational franchise extended to merchant cap-
tains, mates, and pilots, examined by Board of Trade and
Trinity House-'-their certificates' are degrees.'
"6th—Administration of merit—not of family.
• " 6th—The. Ballot, a free, open, and unbiassed question.
" Here is a programme entirely consistent with the avowed
opinions of Lord John. Here is a declaration of principle
which will leave myself and several others no option but to
support the amendment.—Yours sincerely,

" WM. D 14.111( SEYMOUR..
3 The Rt. Hon. Sir W, G. Hayter, Bart., M.P., Bcc. &c."

"11, Hyde Park-terrace, June
"My dear Seymour,—l will take care to communicate
with Lord John, with reference to the contents of your
note.

"I think it will be scarcely possible for him to go through
in detail, upon such a motion as the present, the full pro-
gramme which you have sketched out; but as he is, on
most of the points urged, at one with you, I hope that he
may be enabled to make such a statement as will satisfy
you.—Yours very truly, " W. G. HAYTER.
"W. Digby Seymour, Esq., M.P." .
—This was not
.the conduct of a man stealing votes
from Conservatives, and rushing blindly to give
a vote to put Lord Derby out. He asked them
whether it was not rather the conduct of a man
overawed by the solemnity of his trust, and who
felt that in such a moment he had upon him the ac-
mulated responsibility of all the intelligence, the
energy, the labour, the capital, the wealth, and the
present and future of a town like Southampton.
He put it to any man who was unprejudiced by
personal hostility, whether his speech in the house,
and his correspondence out of the house, did not
prove that, at least, he was a member who felt the
position he was placed in, and that he had to give
a vote, which, if a mistaken one, was at least an
honest one. He was actuated by no feeling but a
determination to do his duty, and just as Lord John
Russell rose, he went into the House of Commons
on purpose to be there when he spoke, to see
whether he could take up his challenge, and to
show them that the member for Southampton was
not afraid to take his proper position, he sat on
the seat directly next to him. Whilst there a gen-
tleman—a member of the House—came up to him,
and told.him that there was a gentleman outside
from Southampton who was particularly anxious
to see him from' some very pressing reason. There
was something magical in the very idea of a consti-
tuent coming up to see him, for who knew but that
his better angel had sent some kind spirit to whis-
per in his ear, and guide him through the shoals
and perils by which he was surrounded. He gave
up his place, determined to hurry back, and hoping,
to be back ix time, and he went into the lobby, and
whom did he confront there but the clever,amiable,
and gifted editor and proprietor of the Hampshire
Advertiser. (Laughter and cheers.) What passed
between him and Mr. Collier he bad treated as a
secret, and what passed between him and Mr.
Couplaud he would also treat as a secret ; but there
was nothing that passed, considering the peculiar
attitude and position of Mr. Coupland, which did
him any discredit as a man of honour and a gentle-
man, nor had he yet, in any of his private or pub-
lic acts, shown himself unworthy of that compli-
ment, even from an opponent. But, at the same
time, it kept him out of the house whilst Lord John
Russell was speaking, and when he returned Lord
John Russell was just concluding. He appealed to
Mr. Collier to know if Lord John had kept faith
with him, and he said he had ; he had given
him, he thought, a pledge sufficient to justify
any real honest-minded man. He asked him for par-
ticulars, and received an explanation which satisfied
him that his vote should be given to the opposition.
He read extracts from the speech of Lord J. Russell,
who, he declared, had given him the pledge he re-
quired, and with the assurances of other friends in
the absence of any defined pledge on the other side,
and in face of the fact that the whole Liberal party
accepted the issue as a fair trial on a great question
of public policy, he thought it his duty, in his place
in Parliament, to give his first vote as an honest,
and not a factious, Liberal, in assisting Lord John
Russell to assume the place he now holds in her
Majesty's G.overnment. (Cheers.) Mr. Seymour
then reiterated his views in reference to the alleged
grievances of the shipping interest, introducing to
them Mr. G. F. Young, as the fearless champion of
that interest. Differing from him in political opi•
nions, Mr. Young was there as his friend, and it
Was a happy omen of the times when a man in his