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

( Abridged from a third Edition of the Edinburgh Evening
Courant of Monday,)
Courant Office, Seven o'clock, p. m.
The nomination of the candidates to represent the city in
Parliament took place to-day.
About half-past eleven o'clock Lord Ramsay and Mr. Lear-
month, with a numerous body of their friends, marching in
order four deep, and amounting to nearly 1,000, arrived in
procession from the George-street Assembly Rooms, preceded
by music and banners, and took their places in the left division
of the hustings
Shortly after Mr. Abercromby and Sir J. Campbell, with a
number of their friends who came in procession from the
Merchant's Hall, and took their stations on the right of the
hustings.
JOAN LAUDER, Esq., Master of the Merchant's Company,
moved that the Right Hon. James Abercromby was a fit and
proper person to represent this city in Parliament.—( Loud
cheers.)
Bailie MACFARLAN seconded the nomination.
Mr. RUTHERFORD Advocate, proposed Sir John Campbell.
Mr. FOREST, of domiston, seconded the nomination.
Mr. FORSYTH proposed Lord Ramsay.
Mr. GLADSTONE seconded the motion.
Sir DAVID MILNE.—I will not detain you long, as I am not
accustomed to make long speeches, but to speak in sincerity
and truth. I have great pleasure in bringing forward a gentle-
man whom I have the honour to nominate as one of your re-
presentatives in Parliament. If you ask me what title I have
to come forward on this occasion, 1 tell you that I was born and
bred in this city—( Cheers)--and that I left it in early life for
the service of my country, but in whatever situation, or in
whatever place I was, I always had a warm heart towards
Auld Reekie."—( Cheers.) I am, in fact, one of yourselves,
and, when thirty-six years ago I was presented with the free-
dom of this city for my services—( Cheers)—l felt it an honour
of the most gratifying kind to a young man, as I then was.
For these reasons I have intruded myself upon your notice, to
bring Mr. Learmonth forward as one of Nig- representatives.
I have known him long; I have met him in public and in pri-
vate ; and I honestly declare that I do not know a person who
is more fit-to represent you than Mr. Learmonth. He is a man
of business habits, well acquainted with the affairs of the Scot-
tish metropolis, in which also he is a large proprietor. With
regard to Mr. Learmonth's public character, I shall say but
little. He then proposed Mr. Learmonth.
RORERT WAIDLAW RAMSAY of Tillicoultry, Esq., seconded
the motion.
Mr. ABERCEOMBY then presented himself, and was received
with cheering. He said—Gentlemen, you have now heard
from the respective movers and seconders the pretensions or
grounds upon which the various candidates are put forward to
represent you in Parliament. For myself, I may say that I
never have come forward to represent this city in Parliament
except on the solicitation of others, because it is not me that
you support, but the cause, and I am only the humble instru-
ment of the cause in your hands. Gentlemen, if I urged no-
thing in my own behalf, I certainly do not mean to utter one
single syllable in disparagement of the pretensions of my op-
ponents. If they can convince you that they entertain prin-
ciples and opinions in consonance with the opinions and prin-
ciples of the great majority of the constituency of this city,
they have then a fair right to claim your suffrages ; but until
they can place themselves in that situation, I have no fear of
going to the poll, because I fully anticipate what your answer
will be, and that will be recorded on Wednesday at 4 o'clock.
—( Loud cheers.) When Parliament has been dissolved un-
expectedly on former occasions, it has generally happened that
those particular grounds on which the King was advised to ap-
peal to the sense of the country has been made distinctly
known ; but on the present occasion it is undoubtedly very
difficult to discover the precise question on which we are
called to decide. I myself do not know any reason why the
late House of Commons should have been dissolved except this,
that the Ministry were of opinion that the House of Commons
would not give them their confidence and: support.—( Cheers
and hear.) Therefore, when they dissolved the Parliament,
the necessary expectation or hope at least must have been,
that the country would return a Parliament different from that
which was dissolved. Now, I ask you what are the grounds
on which you must suppose that the late Parliament was dis-
solved—why simply because they (the Ministry), knew that
their own measures would be very much within what the
country hopes and expects from Parliament. It is, therefore,
in your hands now to decide what the character of the future
House of Commons shall be, whether a true, steady, and
honest assertor of the opinion of the country, or whether the
new House of Commons shall devote themselves exclusively
to the opinions of his Majesty's Ministers? That is the ques-
tion you are called upon to decide in this city ? That ques-
tion has been already decided in the metropolis of England
—( Cheers)—and I have no doubt, that the metropolis of
Scotland will not fall short of England, in doing their duty.
--( Cheers.) I dare say, many of you have have heard, that
it has been said, that if the country be so perverse and so ob-
stinate as to i eturn a House of Commons, that will not give
their support to the present Ministry, that, therefore, the Par-
liament is again to be dissolved. Now, gentlemen, Ido not
believe any such thing. My conviction, which I will now
tell you, is this, that it is scarcely consistent with pro-
bability, that the King would consent to have his prero-
gative so used. I am certain of this, and there are
those here who know that it is the fact, that there can be no
greater enemies of the present Ministry than those who circu-
late such an opinion throughout the country, because the Mi-
nistry have said, " We will not attempt to alter the Reform
Bill, because we regard it as a final measure." Why, to be
sure, they will not attempt to repeal it. They know your exer-
tions to obtain, and they know that you would make still greater
exertions if they attempted to repeal it. But I tell you what
they will do—they will try to defeat the effect of the Reform
Bill by indirect means, and, among the means they would use,
would be repeated dissolutions, as they think the Tory purses
are heavier than those of the opposite party--(that I believe to
be true)—and they would expect, by means of their money
and repeated exertions, that they would tire out the patience of
the
people. But, gentlemen, let me tell you, those who so
argue little know the people; and my conviction is, that those
who, maintain that doctrine are the worst friends of his Majesty's
present Ministry. Because, what is it those friends impute
when they make use of that language ? It is this : "We will
go on, dissolving Parliament, until we have subdued and
broken the spirit of the people."--( Cheers and hisses.) They
will go on, then, for the mere purpose of breaking the spirit of
the people, and by so doing they would most effectually defeat
the effect of the Reform Bill. Therefore I stated, that Ido not
believe they will have recourse to those repeated dissolutions ;
and I also stated, what I believe to be true, that those who cir-
culate such an opinion as I have alluded to are the worst friends
of his Majesty's present Ministry. But observe that those
who circulate such a report as that, and can talk gravely of
such an event, afford you an indication of their own opinions,
which you ought to know, and whenever you hear any one
taking such an opinion, you may rest assured that he is no
friend to reform—no friend to the people.—( Cheers.) I
have only one topic more upon a question which relates to
you, the inhabitants of this city. It is a question on which I
mean to speak in the presence of my opponents, because I
mean to appeal it to them. You are all aware—and Sir
John Campbell knows it as well as I—that there has been
great intimidation used by the supporters of our opponents.
__( Loud and vehement disapprobation from Lord Ramsay
and Mr. Learmonth's supporters, responded to by loud cheers
from the opposite party.) I affirm the fact, that intimidation
has been carried to a great extent during the canvas of this
city. I tell you that my opponents, as I might be assured
they would do, have like honest men disavowed all knowledge
of the fact. Therefore, I ask my opponents now to come for-
ward and to declare, that which I know they must and will
declare—viz., that they disavow it themselves, that they dis-
approve of it on the part of their friends. I know they will
say that, and when said—l ask what is your opinion of those
who persevere in a course of conduct, which nobody has the
courage to come forward and defend.—(Loud cheering.)
Gentlemen, those persons who have recourse to those means,
I have no doubt use this argument, and say—" I have
the power of choosing whom I shall employ, and I
have a right to do what I like with my own."—( Cheers.)
Now, I do not deny that every man has a right to do
with his own as he chooses, but, at the same time, there is a
right way, and there is a wrong way. Now, is he following
that right way ? I ask you does that man use his power rightly
when he goes and tells the tradesman that he has employed for
years, and who relies on the continuance of that support for the
maintenance of himself and family, " I will no longer employ
you ?" And why ! " Because you have exercised honestly
and conscientiously that right the law gives you and your country
expects you to exercise fairly and honestly. Now, gentlemen,
is that a just way of using your own? Is that the way we
ought to use our power ? Certainly not ; because a man,
supposing he is a shopkeeper, is thereby placed in that situa-
tion that he has only those alternatives, either to violate the
principles he conscientiously maintains, or to depart from that
duty which he owes to the country, and which the law and the
constitution give him to be exercised for the benefit of his
country_4 say he must violate his principles, or sacrifice that
support which ho derives from his custom, for the behoof of his
family. I say that is improper,—l say these are dishonest
means used to deprive men of their rights ; and I say that this
is one of the mean efforts made to contract the large consti-
tuencies, and to defeat the Reform Bill.--(Loud cheers and
hisses.) I would not have said so much on this subject, if I
had not received such information, and such communications
on this subject, as made it my duty on my mind, to take this
opportunity of publicly expressing the opinion I entertain
on this subject. Gentlemen, I have many friends in Edin-
burgh--( Loud Cheers)—and I dare say many enemies,
and I say this, that if there are any of my enemies who wish
to give me pain, they cannot take a more effectual way than
by making me hear the general complaints of those very
shopkeepers.—( From Mr. Learmouth—" That is capital.")
I know they don't give‘ me their votes personally—it is for
the sake of the cause. But, lam so connected with you,
that I must hear their complaints ; and I can assure you
they are most painful and distressing to me. Therefore I
conjure all persons who are well disposed, and who reflect
k upon this course, must say that it is bad, because none daxe