The Sun.
London, England, 1857-03-28 00:00:00

ELECTION INT itLLIGENCE.

TIVERTON.

The nomination of candidates for the representation of
this borough in Parliament took place to-day in the pre-
ence of a great number of persons, who flocked into the
town from the surrounding district to hear the speech of
the Prime Minister. Lord Palmerston arrived from town
by the 8.30 train last night, and was received at the sta-
tion by several of the principal inhabitants of the borough,
The noble lord was loudly cheered as he walked along
the platform. On arriving at the Three Tuns Hotel, in
the Main-street, a considerable crowd was collected, by
whom the noble lord was heartily welcomed. The noble
lord afterwards addressed the people from a front window
and expressed his regret that he bad not arrived earlier
in the day, so as to have seen the faces, as well as heard
the voices of his constituents.

The popularity of Lord Palmerston and his hon. col-
league continues unabated in the borough, and although
an opposition was threatened, the candidate, a gentle-
man from Scotland, named Maxwell, retired after an un-
successful canvass of two days.

The proceedings of the day commenced at 11 o'clock,
when the candidates, having been met by their respective
committees, proceeded to the Town-hall, where the writ
was read by the mayor. A procession was afterwards
formed to the hustings. The noble lord was loudly and
enthusiastically cheered as he took his place on the hust-
ings.

The proceedings having been opened in the usual man-
ner,

The MAYOR inquired whether any elector had a can-
didate to propose
Mr. W. H. GAKBLEN said he had great pleasure in
proposing a candidate whom he believed to be a fit and
proper person to represent the borough in the new Par-
liament, viz., Mr. John Heathcoat.
Mr. W. T. HAWKE seconded the nomination..
Mr. F. Horat said he rose to nominate for the choice
of the electors the Right Hon. Viscount Palmerston.
(Load cheers.) The noble lord had represented them
for 23 years, and during that time he had done good ser-
vice to the borough and the country. He was known
wherever the name of England was known as the first
statesman of Europe, and it was an honour and pride to
any constituency to return him as their representative.
[Lady Palmerston here drove up, and took a seat in a
window opposite the hustings. Her ladyship was loudly
cheered as she appeared at the window.] The noble lord
now solicited a renewal of that kind confidence extended
to him on former occasions. He (Ur. Hole) had can-
vassed for the noble lord, and he was happy to say that
his lordship stood higher than ever in the public estima-
tion. (Hear, bear.) The country had pronounced in
favour of Lord Palmerston, for they considered him to
be the only man to represent them at the present mo-
ment. Believing fully and cordially that Lord Palmer-
ston was essentially the man for the occasion, and the
only statesman who was able to sway the destinies of
this great empire, he cordially recommended him as a fit
and proper person to represent them in Parliament.
Mr. WERE seconded the nomination.
The MAYOR having inquired whether any elector had
any other candidate to propose, and no one coming for-
ward, his worship declared that Lord Palmerston and
Mr. Heathcoat bad been duly elected to serve as bur-
gesses in the coming Parliament. (Loud cheers.)
Mr. HEATIICOAT returned thanks, and observed that,
although five and twenty years bad elapsed since he was
first returned as one of the members of Tiverton, he had
nothing to add to the professions he then made. (Hear,
bear.) He believed be had acted up to those professiow,
and it was his intention to return to Parliament and
follow the same course which ho pursued for the last
quarter of a century. (Loud cheers.)
Lord PALMERSTON then came forward, and was re-
ceived with loud cheers. The noble lord spoke as fol-
lows :—Gentlemen, before I begin to thank you for the
honour you have done me, I must beg another favour st
your hands, and that is that you will allow me to address
you with my bat on. (A voice—" To be sure.") I have
two reasons for making this request: The first is, that I
may be your true representative, for I find that you all
have your hats on this cold day ; and, in the next place,
I am sure you would not wish your representative to be
disabled by a bad cold in his head, and thus prevented'
from doing his duty towards you. (Laughter.) Now,
gentlemen, I will in the first place say a few words as to
the opponent who appeared the other day in the field.
There is an old and good maxim—you should Fay "no_
thing but good of the dead;" and not only upon that ac-
count, but from my own feelings, I must do justice to tt
opponent by saying that he behaved in a very handsome
manner. When finding that he bad no chance of success,
he determined not to put you or us to any further trou-
ble. He no doubt was misled by statements utterly
without foundation, and he acted like a gentleman i 9
withdrawing at the earliest moment he found that his
expectations were not likely to be realised. Now, gentle
men, I cannot sufficiently thank you for the honour you
have done me in renewing on this occasion that confi-
dence which I have for so many years, and at such re-
peated elections, received at your hands ; and I can as_
sure you that that honour is, in my opinion, greatly en_
hanced by finding myself associated with that most
respectable colleague Mr. Heathcoat, a man who stands
eminently high in the estimation of all who know him,
not merely within range of the neighbourhood of his re-
sidence, but among all those who have come in contact
with him in his public capacity. Gentlemen, it is per_
fectly true, as Mr. Hole, who did me the honour to pro_
pose me, stated, that I did receive from some very large
and influential communities proposals that I should
stand as candidate to represent them in the ensuing Per-
'lament. I felt, as you may believe, greatly gratified and
flattered by that testimony of goodwill and approbation
from communities so important and influential ; but my
aaswer was that I was wedded to Tiverton—that I would
not pronounce the divorce, and that I had no reason to
think my friends here wished to dispense with my future
services. (" No, no," and cheers.) 'Well, gentlemen, the
occasion on which I have now the honour to represent
you is one which concerns, rot merely myself as
an individual, which concerns not merely the Govern-
ment of which I am a member, but which, in my opi-
nion, involves a question of high and national import.
acce—no le,s a question than the honour, dignity, inte-
rests, and fair fame of the country. (Cheers.) The na-
tion is called upon to choose which set of men shall for
the future be charged with the conduct of its affairs ;
whether that Administration which for the last two or
three years has conducted the interests of the country
shall be continued, or whether an Administration shall
be formed out of those (I must again repeat the expres-
sion, however objectionable it may be received elsewhere)
hitherto discordant elements which, by accident or
sign, I care not which, found themselves united in the
same lobby to pronounce a censure upon the exrsting
Administration. (Hear.) Gentlemen, combination has
been denied—concurrence is matter of fact. (Cheers ) It
did so happen that the leaders of different parties did
find them-elves united to support a motion of censure
upon the Government, and no man will venture to deny
that they did believe that the carrying of that resolution
would be followed by the reaignation of the present Go-
vernment and the formation of another out of those who
bad joined to overthrow it. (Hear.; But we took a dif_
ferent course. We believed that the Administration of
the day, whether it did or did not peeecee the confidence
of the majority of the House of Comment*, did possess
the confidence and goodwill of the peutdo of the United
Kingdom. (Hear.) That opinion has been confirmed
from a great variety of quarters. I leave bad the honour
of receiving addresses from a great number of large com-
mercial and other to ele, signed, as those who presented
them to me toll me, by men of all ranks, from the highest
to the lowest—by men of all parties—Conservatives and
Whigs, Tories and Radicals, expressing their regret and
surprise at the resolution which the majority of the
House of Commons bad adopted, and expressing their
continued confidence in the Administration of the day.
(Hear, hear.) These addresses were not only highly
gratifying to the Government, but I think they did hon-
our to the national feeling of the country, because they
are a proof that party considerations and distinctions
were forgotten when a case had arisen in which the in_
terests of England were concerned ;and that the Caine
noble spirit which actuated the people of this country,
and which obliterated all party considerations and difFe-
rences during the w;.r with ilussia—that the idame noble
spirit—that same plain, straightforward, and practical
good reuse which distinguishes so eminently the peons
tel this United Kingdom, led them all to see that the real
question at issue was, whether the honour and interests
of the country should be maintained, or whether they
should be sacrificed for the purpose of transferring power
from the hands of one set of men to another. (Cheers.)
Gentlemen, the Administration of which I have the
honour to be the head, was formed at a moment of great
national difficulty, As far as I was concerned—and
cer taioly but a short time before I war call al upon by
toy Sovereign to form an Administration—l had not
the slightest idea that the task would have been imposed
upon me. There were others in the State who had
vent parties at their back—l stood comparatively alone,
and therefore had no reason to suppose that any combine.
tion of circumstances would arise to lead me to be called
upon to perform the duties which fell to my lot as First
Minister of the Crown. Under tilde circumstances I
et.deavoured to surround myself with men of similar opi-
nions with my own—by men upon whose integrity and