The Sun.
London, England, 1859-04-30 00:00:00

Conservative portion of the mob, the " Reds,' who occupied
the space in front of Sir H. Leeke's committee-room, and to
the left hand of the platform, began the disturbance with
t grea fury.
Mr. OTTA.WAY, surgeon, proposed Rear-Admiral Sir H.
Leeks. He also spoke long, criticising the conduct and
speeches of Mr. Osborne, and entering into various personal
as well as public matters.
Alderman WOOD seconded the nomination.
Mr. SANKEY proposed the other Conservative candidate,
William Nicoll, Esq., of an eminent mercantile house in
London and Liverpool.
Alderman BIRMINGHAM, who experienced in his turn a
great deal of interruption and. noise from the "Blues," or
radical party, seconded the nomination.
Mr. B. OSBORNE then presented himself to the electors,
and was received with great cheering, followed by an uproar
which lasted for a considerable time, without any apparent
prospect of cessation. The hon. gentleman made many fruit-
less efforts to obtain a hearing. He said : Fellow country-
men—Are you afraid ? Are you cowards ? You are.
(Uproar.) I see a respectable butcher in spectacles disturb-
ing your meeting. (Laughter and confusion.)- I call upon
you to turn that person out. (Uproar.) Won't you have
anything but medical men, ? (Alluding to some of the pre-
vious speakers.) Well, we will make you pay for the
whistle. (Renewed uproar.) Where is the Mayor? (Great
uproar and cries of " Shame.") I believe, he is a doctor too.
Has he been called out, or has he gone to bed ?
The MAYOR called upon the meeting not to disgrace
themselves by refusing to hear the candidates. (Cheers.)
The-noise, however, was renewed more violently than
before. After some time,
Mr. OSBORNE again endeavoured to speak. He said—l
do not ask silence on behalf of myself or my gallant friend,
Sir Wm. Russell. You know our principles, but on behalf
--(great confusion, in which the sentence was lost). Mr.
Mayor, I call upon you to remove that mob on the opposite
side. (Cries of " How can he ?") Where is the mayor ?
Why don't he abdicate ? (Renewed outcries, in the midst
of which Mr. Osborne unrolled a placard with the following
appeal, written in large characters, "Englishmen, will you
not hear the truth ?")
The uproar, however, continuing,
Mr: SANKEY a leading Conservative of the borough, ap-
peared on the Liberal side, and begged the crowd to be quiet. i
Sir li. Leeke mid other gentlemen requested the electors
to hear Mr. Osborne.
At this moment a thin, but compact line of "navvies"
forced their way through the crowd, and a scene of great
riot ensued, ending in something like a general fight. The
tables of the reporters were invaded by non-combatants, and
" The Press" pursued their avocations during the rest of
the day under very considerable difficulties. At length there
was a lull, and a voice was heard to cry, " A show of hands
will settle it."

Mr. OSBORNE—No: I first of all want a show of ears.
(Laughter.) You cannot hear on what terms Mr. Nicol
intends to discount your bills unless you listen to me. You
cannot hear how he came to be essential to the town of
Dover. I want you to hear something of his principles, but
it does not necessarily follow that he has any. He may be
come to offer you interest without principal. (Laughter.)
Why. is Sir Henry Leeke here? (Cheers and uproar.) I'll
tell you. He is here because he is content to sail under
sealed orders ; he has no "option." (Confusion.) But it is
due to you as voters and as freemen, that he should ex-
plain his principles. The other gentleman, who we are
told is essential to your prosperity, has not appeared in
political life for twenty-one years. Mr. Birmingham, how-
ever has acted the part of a resurrection man, and dug him
np—(eheers and hootings)—and brought him to Dover.
Now let us know something of the opinions of these gentle-
men. When you inquire their views on Reform don't let
them put you off with allusions to Britannia, a highly re-
pectable lady who has lately formed an affectionate connec-
tion with Sir J. Pakington. (Laughter.) When you ask
them about the ballot, don't let them reply by a reference
to the British lion, but let them come out and tell whether
they are fish, flesh, fowl, or good red herring-. (Hear, hear,
and uproar.) I see many among you by whom lam re-
minded of a quotation. (Here the honourable gentleman
was interrupted by another fight in front of the hustings.)
The quotation was, " Him late I saw culling of simples."
(Much uproar.) I left my friend the accoucheur (Mr.
Ottaway) culling of simples. As that gentleman's remarks
showed him to be fond of reading- my speeches, I will send
him a copy, bound in calf, for his especial study. After some
further comment upon Mr. Ottaway's speech, Mr. Osborne
resumed—Dover seems to.me to be very much in the posi-
tion of a certain young lady in apochryphal story who was
attempted to be seduced by two Liberal-Conservatives—l
mean Susannah and the Elders. (Laughter.) They very
probably, like Mr. Birmingham, told her that they were
essential to her prosperity; but they were foinad out, and I
hope that in the same manner that the Susannah of
Dover will escape a separation from her husband. (Cheers.)
Gentlemen, when, not long ago, Lord Palmerston went to
the country, it was said that he dissolved Parliament to
waste a year; but I tell you that the present Government
dissolved to imperil an empire. (Loud cheers.) If you
are of opinion that I did wrong in voting against the dis-
franchisement of 40s. freeholders, if you think I did wrong
in voting for the abolition of church rates, then was Parlia-
ment rightly clissol-ed. But if, as I think, you are of opi-
nion that the working classes, in spite of their own
wishes—(laughter)—ought to be admitted to vote, if you
think that church rates ought not to be maintained in order
to keep up the old fabric of the churches, where the parsons
are at once for place and pension, then, I say, you will not
allow that Parliament was rightly dissolved. (Cheers.) But,
gentlemen, at this eventful period in the history of the
world, when the first cannon fired may light up a general '
conflagration in Europe—at such a time, I say, that the
Ministry which dissolved Parliament ought to be impeached.
(Hear, and uproar.) Will you support a Government in
which, at the head of the Admiralty is 'Sir J. Pakington,
who dismissed Capt. Carnegie for being an honest man ?
(Hear.) You ask for reform at home, and you get dissolu-
tion. You ask for peace abroad, and you get a general con-
flict. I should like to. ask Mr:Nicol his opinion upon church
rates. I should like to know the views of Sir H. Leeke on
extension of the suffrage. He will tell you, no doubt, that
he is a Liberal !-Conservative. That is an amphibious sort
of animal, and comes, I think, near the crocodile species.
(Oh and cheers.) These Liberal -Conservatives, like a
gentleman who shall be nameless, when ill-designed are
well designed—" when:the devil was sick"—you know
the rest. (Laughter.) They are liberal only in pro-
fessions on the hustings ; in practice they are re-
trogressive. (Hear, hear.) They dressed in borrowed
plumage. When a great pressure is applied, they will
filch a few measures from Liberal Governments ; but with-
out pressure they will not stir an inch. Like the high-
trotting Flemish horses they are all action and no go.
(Laughter.) When a gentleman tells you he is a Liberal-
Conscrvativa, you may .always see the old Tory hoof peep-
ing out from under his masquerade dress. (Cheers and
confirsion.) What's in a name? A Leeke by any other
name would smell as sweet--(oh, and laughter)—but I feel
inclined to say to the ancient Pistol of Dover, Mr. Ottaway,
'Why wear you that leek? Saint Derby's day is past."
Much laughter.) Yes, gentlemen, Lord Derby's day is
Past. His home policy no longer meets the wants of the
age, and his foreign policy, what has it been ? The duped
of Russia, and the despised of France. I shall be much
surprised ilymi do not soon see Lord Derby coming to the
Liberals for assistance, and in the hour of danger they, like
true Englishmen, will give him that assistance, but when
they have pulled him out of the mire I think they will be
inclined to send him back to Knowsley. (Hear, and
uproar.) After some further remarks, Mr. Osborne ex-
prmsed his confidence in the result of the poll, and sat
(lowa amidst mingled cheers and disapprobation.
:Sir WreLfam RUSSELL then rose and was received with
gnat cheering. After alluding to his career in India. he
said be firmly adhered to those principles of progress on
which lie had first solicited the votes of the electors, and he
should carry:them out if returned once more as the repre-
oentative of the borough. (Loud cheers.)
Sir H Eseity LEEKE then rose amidst loud cheering and
said that when he came to Dover he was told that no one
could stand a2;ainst Mr. Osborne, but he (Sir Henry Leeke)
was not to be deterred by such statements, nor by the un-
founded charges brought against him. (Cheers.) About
eight months ago he went to Devonport, his house and
family were there, and he was asked if he would stand in
the event of a dissolution. He readily consented to do so.
Well, a dissolution came, and he was made a Lord of the
Admiralty, without any stipulation whatever. (Oh, oh,
and cheers.) A gentleman had said the other night that
he had a letter in his pocket in which he (Sir H. Leeke)
had offered to bribe the outfitters of Devonport. He never
wrote that letter. (Cheers.) The letter now handed to
him (by Mr. Osborne) was got up by Mr. Latimer, secretary
to the Reform Association at Plymouth. There was not a
word of truth in it. [The hon. candidate read the letter,
and severally denied the statements it contained, and, after
some further observations, resumed his seat amidst much
cheering.]
Mr. NICOL then rose, and was very warmly received,
but at this time our parcel was despatched.
The show of hands was declared to be in favour of Mr.
Osborne and Sir W. Russell. A poll was then demanded
on behalf of Sir Henry Leeke and Mr. Nicol, and the pro-
ceedings terminated.