The Sun.
London, England, 1859-04-22 00:00:00

LAMBETH.

- A crowded meeting of electors was held yester-
day-evening. at the Horns, to hear Mr. WILLIAms's
views on the great questions of the day, and also
such explanations as that gentleman might offer
relative to the recent withdrawal of his resignation.
Mr. Williams and his friends were vociferously
cheered as they entered the room.
Mr. J. W. STRATTON, late churchwarden of
Lambeth, took the chair. This meeting, he said,
would probably be the most important election
meeting that had for some years* been held in the
borough of Lambeth. He believed that the electors
had been tampered with, and therefore should de-
tain them for a few moments with a brief explana-
tion of what had occurred to himself. Immediately
the dissolution was announced Mr. Frederick
Doulton called on him, and asked him for his sup-
port. He (Mr. Stratton) replied that if his old
friend Mr. Williams stood, no other man should
have his support. Mr. Doulton informed him that
Mr. Williams was indisposed, having had a slight
attack of paralysis--a mistake, he (Mr. Stratton)
was happy to say ; but the consequence of that
statement was that he waited personally on Mr.
Williams, and the consequence was the re-appear-
ance of that gentleman as a candidate for their
suffrages.
Mr. WILLIAMS, who was loudly cheered, said
that he appeared amongst them under peculiar
circumstances,. and with feelings of considerable
pain, for he found that in consequence of coming so
late into the field he had lost a great n umber of valued
supporters. (" Only a few.") He now came forward
in consequence of a requisition the most numerously
signed that (he believed) had ever been got up on
so short a notice. A deputation, bearing that re-
quisition, waited on him and assured him that it
was the general wish of the borough that he should
again come forward. The first step he took in
consepence was to consult his medical adviser, and
that gentleman assured him that by avoiding late
hours in the house he might go in again without
the slightest danger. There had been innumerable
rumours circulated in the borough as to the causes
which led to his resignation. First, it had been
said that no opposition to him was threatened pre-
Vious to his resignation. But a great deal of
underhand work had been going on. (Hear.) Mr.
Doulton had made him the theme of all his speeches,
and had declared that no attempt was being made
to disturb him (Mr. Williams); but he (Mr.-Williams)
had far different information. From the moment
the Government were defeated he learnt that Mr.
Doulton commenced feeling his way in the borough.
(An Elector—" Mr. Doulton denies that.") He was
informed that Mr. Doulton had been entertaining
his (Mr. Williams's) friends with unwonted hospi-
tality long before he (Mr. Williams) had given any
intimation of intended resignation. (Hear.) In fact,
there was every symptom of a contest, and as he
had recently sustained a most arduous one, and as
also he did not expect the present. Parliament to
last long, he then made up his mind not to contest
the borough. (Interruption.)
The CHAIRMAN called on the meeting to recollect
that the candidate was not, a young man, and that
he had spent his best days their service.
Mr. WILLIAM—Among other things which had
been advanced against him, he believed, it had
been circulated in ,the borough that he was an old,
worn-out man. All that he could say in reply to
his critics was, that he was prepared to contend
with any of them either with the strength of his
arm or the clearness of his head. (Loud cheers,
and laughter.) Having alluded to a letter which
had appeared in the Morning Advertiser, Mr.
Williams proceeded to say that he had been accused
even of selling the borough, and that the sum,
of two thousand pounds had been received. Now,
he could inform them that he was happily So cir-
cumstanced as to have quite as' much money as he
wanted, and he could assure them the merchant was
not alive whO could purchase his independence.
But even if it were so, was the independent borough
of Lambeth to be purchased for two thousand or
two hundred thousand pounds ? (Cheers.) No, all
he could say Was that he came a free and inde-
pendent candidate before them, and it was for the
electors to choose the best main. (Hear.) He had
been accused' of having made a promise to 'Mr.
Doulton in 1857, not again to contest the borough.
He had never done anything of the kind, nor had
he ever known until now that Mr. Doulton had any
intention of seeking a seat in Parliament. He
might have said, in passing, that the turmoil and
trouble of that election were so great, that he did
not think he should encounter them again. But he
had thought no more of it until now, when he found
it brought up circumstantially against him. He,
had heard that Mr. Roupell's wealth and influence
were to be thrown into the scale against him but
he did not believe it. (Hear.) Mr. Roupell and
he had always been the best friends, had always
consulted together on political questions, and had
always voted in the same lobby. (Cheers.) With
respect to the Reform Bill, that of the next session
would be a most iniportant measure. It would
hardly be brought forward by the present Govern-
ment, but by whoever brought forward it would
not most probably be such a one as would satisfy
them, and it was therefore necessary to have a strong
force of real reformers in the house. Lord J. Rus-
sell was an honest reformer as far as he went. but
he did not go far enough, and it would be necessary
that they should squeeze him up. (Cheers.) Lord
John had given them his programme—Xlo for
counties and VI for boroughs. He (Mr. Williams)
thought the sum named for counties low enough,
but for the towns he should prefer the old English
franchise, household suffrage. He thought that
every householder and every lodger occupying a
room should have a vote. With respect to the
ballot, he had always voted for it, and should con-
tinue to do so, because he believed it to be abso-
lutely necessary for the voter, not in towns, but
in the country. In Lambeth the employers did
not interfere with their workmen, but in the coun-
try a landlord considered it an insult if a man can-
vassed his tenants without having in the first
instance obtained his permission. He should, there.
fore, do all he could to obtain for them a good
Reform Bill, and he could assure them that in such
a work the old experienced members would have
great advantage. Mr. Williams here quoted a
passage from one of Mr. Doulton's speeches, to the
effect that little mental qualification was necessary
for the House of Commons. He (Mr. Williams)
could assure them that Mr. Doulton was quite
mistaken in his estimate, for it required much more
skill and ability to be a member of the House ofl
Commons than to manage the most intricate busi-
ness either in trade or commerce. There were the
estimates, for instance, respecting which he had
taken more trouble than any member of the House
of Commons. These estimates consisted of thousands
of particular votes, and he was always able to con-
front the Minister with the corresponding vote in
the old boroughmongering Parliament. They got
over it, it was true, by blustering, as he seldom got
any one to back him, but if the press would only
publish their expenses the people would not stand
them much longer. He was for giving the largest
possible extension of the franchise to the working
classes. Some people said they were venal and not
to be trusted, but his belief was that they were as
honest and independent as any other class of their
fellow countrymen. (Cheers.) Mr. Williams con-
cluded amid loud cheering by telling the meeting
that his cause was their cause, and that he left it
confidently in their hands.
Mr. GODDARD proposed a resolution pledging the
meeting to Mr. Williams's support, and related one
or two incidents to show that Mr. Doulton had
long contemplated standing for the borough. He
trusted, however, that all their underhand attempts
against Mr. Williams would be unsuccessful, seeing
that the requisition to him had in a few hours
received 2,000 signatures.
;Mr. GILES, in seconding the resolution, re-
minded the meeting that one of Mr. Wil-
liams's last Parliamentary acts was to call the
attention of the Chancellor of the Exchequer
to the fact that his Foreign Secretary had held his
office for some time without having in the first in-
stance paid for the proper stamp on his admission.
(Loud cheers.) Mr. Giles proceeded to complain
that Messrs. Roupell and Doultou had secured all
the public-houses in the borough, but they had, he
said, a remedy for that, for the electors had offered
them their private houses for committee rooms.
The resolution was put and carried by acclama-
tion, and the proceedings terminated with a vote
of thanks to the chairman.

In answer to questions, Mr. Williams declined to
vote for the opening of the Crystal Palace and other
public places on Sundays, the half-holiday move-
ment being, in his opinion, the best thing to meet
that case. He was also opposed to Sunday trading,
and had himself brought in a bill, for its abolition.
He was willing to vote against the income-tax
under a hundred a year, and would also use his best
endeavours to have a clearer distinction between
the income wrung from labour and that which was
derived from property. In answer to questions
from Mr. Knight, Mr. 'Williams reiterated his
denial of any previous arrangement with Mr.
Doulton.

A numerous meeting was addressed on the same
evening at the Victoria Theatre, and Mr. Roupell
met his friends at the School-room, Flint-street,
Walworth.