The Sun.
London, England, 1859-05-05 00:00:00

ELECTION INTELLIGENCE.

SUFFOLK (EAST).
The constituency of the eastern divisior of Suf-
folk,igh Sheriff
assembled yesterday under the
in Ipswich,
.
eupervision of Mr. J. G. Sheppard, the IT
of the county, for the election of two I::r.ights of the
shire to represent them in Parliamen The nomi;
nation took place on hustings erectha on the Corn-
hill, the customary scene of the l elections, in
the presence of a large number of the gentlemen
and yeomanry of the county and a still greater
inhabitants.
gathering of the, of the town, The day-
being auspicious, most of che members of the fami•
lies of the neigh:kwllring gentry were attracted to
the ceremony,a more than ordinary amount of party
spirit was displayed, and altogether the occasion
served to bring into play all the more striking inci-
dents and traits of character with which a contested
election in an ancient county town is associated in
the national mind. The candidates in the Conser-
vative interest are Lord Henniker and the Attor •
ney-General, who represented the division in the
last Parliament, and on the Liberal side Lieut.-
Colonel Adair, who formerly-sat for the borough of
Cambridge. The two Conservative candidates were
met by a large body of their supporters, many of
them mounted on horseback, on the Norwich-road,
and escorted to the hustings. A similar compliment
was paid to Colonel Adair, who entered the town
by the Woodbridge-road. An indescribable uproar
prevailed more or less throughout the whole of the
nomination, accompanied by occasional acts by the
partisans on both sides, assembled in a compact
mass in front of the hustings, which gave rise to
some indignation. Among the rabble collected at
elections in this town a dangerous and filthy prac-
tice obtains of pelting an obnoxious candidate with
eggs, and to this they had again recourse yesterday.
The present Attorney-General has been more than
once pelted, after this fashion, on the same spot.
One of these missiles aimed at the learned
knight yesterday struck the High Sheriff on
the head, resulting, however, only in more Rersonal
annoyance to himself and those about him than
actual harm. This was repeated several times,
and on one occasion the offensive object alighted and
burst in the Liberal camp, though the aim was chiefly
directed to the opposite side of the hustings. The
hat and coat of Lord Henniker, in particular, were
ludicrously besmeared, but the learned Attorney-
General was more fortunate in this respect than
those by whom he was surrounded, including the
High Sheriff himself.
The formal preliminaries being concluded, Lord
Henniker was nominated by Mr. Barne and Capt.
Corrance ; Colonel Bence and Mr. Barthropp nomi-
sated the Attorney-General ; and Colonel Adair
was introduced to the electors by Mr. T. B. Western
and Mr. P. R. Burrell.

No other candidate having been proposed,
Lord HENNIKER first addressed the electors. He
said, the Conservatives, and himself among the
number, had on many occasions supported Lord
Palmerston when they could do so consistently with
their principles, but from the time that Lord Derby
became Premier a skirnaishingwarfare began which
had continued ever since. The noble Lord referred
at length to Mr. Cardwell's motion last session,
which he said reminded him of that famous King
who, with twice ten thousand men, walked up the
hill and then walked down again. (Laughter.)
Alluding to the Government Reform Bill, his lord-
ship said it would have enfranchised on a moderate
computation 1,000,000 persons, and he considered
the class of persons on whom it was proposed to
confer a £lO franchise in counties were possessed of
at least an equal amount of intelligence as the £lO
voters in a town. Lord John Russell, supported by
Mr. Bright, had not allowed the bill to be fairly con-
sidered in its details in committee, but he (Lord
Henniker) would say of Mr. Bright that he admired
him for his straightforward honesty. Mr. Bright
told the public what he wanted—(cheers)—but
neither Lord John Russell nor Lord Palmerston did
so. They were in fact as different as they could be
from Mr. Bright. Lord John Russell and Lord Pal-
merston were both adverse to the ballot, while Mr.
Bright was for it ; they were not for annihilat-
ing the Church and the House of Lords, but Mr.
Bright said fairly he was for doing away with both.
With regard to the proposition in the Government
bill for the use of voting papers, Lord Henniker
said he believed it emanated.originally from that
great reformer, Mr. Hume. His lordship added that
he did not agree with the clause affecting the 40s.
freeholders living in boroughs, but he believed it
might have been modified or struck out in commit-
tee ; instead of that, however, no opportunity was
given for ascertaining the opinions of the House of
Commons. In respect to the European war he sup-
ported Lord Derby's policy of an armed neutrality
on the part of England. He believed, however, all
present sympathised with the Italians, and that
their liberty was only a question of time, for

" Freedom's battle once begun,
Bequeathed from bleeding sire to son,
Though baffled oft, is ever won."
(Cheers.)
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL, who was received with
loud cheers and interruptions ofa less complimentary
character, appealed for that fair play which he said
was a distinguishing characteristic of the British
people. Alluding to Colonel Adair, the learned gen-
tleman proceeded to observe that the question now
at issue in the county was not one. of 4 personal
character or of private merit.. The electors were
called upon to discharge an important duty, and in
the discharge of that duty he appealed to them to
declare who were the real Reformers of the day,
who were the true friends of the working classes,
and who were the advocates of those measures
which really tended to the good and welfare of the
people. Elector—Why, the Whigs, certainly.]
Well, with respect to the Whigs and the great
question of reform, who were the Reformers ?
Twenty-seven years had now elapsed since the Re-
form Bill of 1832, and for 20 years during that
eventful period the Whigs—as the hon. elector called
them, although their name was almost lost—or the
Liberals, had been in power ; and he appealed to those
present, especially those who belonged to the work-
ing classes, whether if the Whigs, the Liberals, or by
whatever name they chose to call themselves, had
sincerely desired reform and the enfranchisement of
the working classes, they would not during the 20
years in which they commanded large majorities
of both Houses of Parliament have introduced a bill
for the extension of the franchise. Instead of that,
however, they had failed to bring forward a bill, or
a single clause of a bill, for the enfranchisement of
the working classes. (" Why didn't you propose a
bill ?I Why, he and his friends had proposed a bill
—the only bill. (Cheers.) The Government to which
he had the honour to belong had proposed the only
bill to Parliament which ever tended to enfranchise
the working classes, or to confer a single vote on
any of that numerous and deserving class of the
people of this country. But for the existence of dif-
ferences which had arisen between the two noble lords
who called themselves leaders of the Whig or Libe-
ral party—but for the complications and differences
which arose between Lord J. Russell and Lord Pal-
merston, he thought he could satisfy the most doubt-
ing man present that the public would not have heard
—at least from the Liberal side of the House of
Commons—of any Reform Bill at all for the people
of England. (Cheers.) He was speaking of dates
and facts which admitted of no contradiction.
During the greater part of the period which elapsed
between the passing of the Reform Bill of 1832 till
1850 the Liberal party had been in power, com-
mandin€, a large majority of the House of Commons,
and at least a sufficient degree of support in the
House of Lords to have passed any bill. The House
of Lords at least would have given a bill which
would have conferred upon many who were yet
unenfranchised thefranchise which they so earnestly
desired; but during the period to which he had
alluded Lord John Russell and Lord Palmerston,
although Ministers of the Crown possessing the
confidence of their own party in the House of Com-
mons, never suggested a Reform 13111. On the
contrary, it would be remembered that Lord
John Russell had declared in favour of the finality
of the Reform Bill of 1832. " Finality" had
become an adjunct of the name of the noble lord--
(cheers)—till inllBso, by reason of some real or sup.
posed defect or irregularity in the foreign policy of
the country, Lord Palmerston had the ill luck to
fall into disfavour with Lord John Russell and
others of the Ministry, and was most unceremoni-
ously ejected from the Cabinet. [" By your party."]
No, it was by Lord John Russell. His (the Attor-
ney-General's) friend in the crowd was rather mis-
taken as to names and dates. (Cheers.) The Conser-
vative party at that time was not in power at all.
It was Lord John Russell. From that moment a
schism or fend arose between Lord John Russell
and Lord Palmerston ; and it was from that feud,
and that alone, that Lord John Russell brought in
a Reform Bill in 1851. He (the Attorney-General)
believed that reform was not really asked for by
the public voice of the people. (No, no, and inter-
ruption.) Well, he rejoiced to find that at least it
was called for, because he agreed with them that
there ought to be a Reform Bill. (Cheers.) What
was more, he had done what Lord John Russell
had not done, he had become a party to a Reform
Bill which was laid upon the table of the House of
Commons, and which he and his friends had
really and faithfully endeavoured to make the
law of the land. (Cheers.) After the division which
took place between Lord J. Russell and Lord Pal-
merston, the one remained perhaps at the head of
100 followers, and the other at the head of some 70
or 80, each seeking to`out-nianceuvre the other, and
to obtain an ascendancy in the Government of the
country and the leadership of the great Liberal
party in the House of Commons. It was in order to
catch the stray voters of the party in the House of
Ccommom that Lord J. Russell--abandoning the