The Sun.
London, England, 1857-05-06 00:00:00

R. B-DE*-

Mr. Alexander Laing, manufacturer, Hawick,
has received the fullo;ving lettar from Mr. Cobden,
in acknowledgment of a copy of resolutions passed
at, a public meeting in that town, sympathising
with Messrs. Cobden, Bright, and Gibson on their
recent defeats at Huddersfield and Manchester :--

" Midhurst, April 30.
" Sir.—l have had the honour of receiving your
letter, enclosing resolutions passed at a public
meeting in Hawick, declaring its attwhment to
those general views which, in conjunction with my
friends Messrs. Bright and Gibson, I have advo-
cated, and expressing its regret at the result of the
Manchester and Huddersfield elections. Pray .do
me the favour to assure our kind neighbours that I
appreciate with grateful warmth this generous mark
of their approbation. To be cheered with the sym-
pathy of one's countrymen in moments of dis-
couragement or defeat is the most gratifyirw reward
and the most useful support that can be rendered

to a public man.
" It is, however, but just to all parties to add
that far more has been implied from my accidental
defeat at Huddersfield than can be fairly attributed
to it. I had no connexion with pr claim on that
borough, and no acquaintance with its inhabitants
beyond that which I formed in almost every con-
siderable place iu the kingdom in the course of the
free trade struggle ; and Mr. Ackroyd, the elected
member, is as sound a freetrader as myself. The
invitation to become a candidate, which emanated
from a public meeting, did not reach me till alter
my opponent, who occupied an influential local
position, was already in the midst of a canvass from
door to door throughout the borough—an ordeal
which I at once declared I could not go through
for all the seats in Parliament—and his success was
insured against all possible opposition, no matter
from what quarter it might have come. In fact, my
entrance upon the contest was at the time simply
and solely a mistake ; but, owing to the circum-
stances under which it was fallen into, it involved no
blame or serious responsibility to any one. I should
not presume to think these particulars worthy of
being mentioned but for the impression which I
see prevails that I deem myself aggrieved at the
result of the contest, and regard it as a delibe-
rate judgment of a popular constituency on my po-
litical principles. The electors of Huddersfield
were not regularly or fairly empanelled as a jury
to try me, and their verdict could not therefore
involve either credit or,discredit to me or them-
fives.

"To complete, since I have commenced this little
narrative, 1.-t me add that the real cause of my ,
finding myself at this moment out of the house is
to be traced as far back as 1847, when, owing to the
over-zealous kindness of my friends, I was, while
1,000 miles distant from England, returnediz both
the West Riding and Stockport. On my return
home, at the urgent request of those friends, I re-
luetatitly dissolved my connexion with the b.trough,
and elected to sit for the Riding. I should have
been but a cold-blooded p,liician if I had acted
otherwise. But I had a fall foresight of the conse-
quences, for I was the first to declare that it would
be impossible, after the free trade question was
settled, that the largest county constituency in the
kingdom should continue to be represented by one
wholly unconnected with it by birth, property, or
residence. I acc-pted its ropresentation ad hoc, as
the diplomatists would say, knowing that in with-
drawing myself from the safe anchorage of Steck-
port I wa3 endangering my return at some future
election by casting myself adrift amid the storms
and breakers of the political ocean. The result has
only verifie I my predictions. RA let it not be sup-
pos-d that I am so unreasonable as to feel aggrieved
by the result. I should be about the last man
living to be justified in giving way to such a feel-
ing. I have had more than my share of the honours
of political warfare, and why should I expect to
es ape its reverses ?
"For personal rersens it is convenient to me at
present to he relieved from the duties of Parlia-
ment. I must confess, however, at the same time,
thatt there never was a moment when, on public
grounds, I would have more glidly taken my seat
in the House of Commons. Again thanking you
and those whom you represwit for your friendly
manifestations of feeling.
"I remain, Sir, yours faithfully,
" RICHARD COBDEN.
"Alexander Laing, Esq., Hawick.
" P.S. —I regret that in consequence of your
first letter Irwin'', faded to reach me there should
have been so much delay in sending an answer."

At a meeting of the Citholic electors of Leeds,
held at the rooms of the Catholic Literary Institu-
tion, on the 17th of April, it wat unanimously re-
solved that the following address b 3 presented to
Mr. Richard Cobden :
" We, the Catholic elect Ts of the borough of
Leeds, entertaining a grateful recollection of the
many and successful services rendered by you t 3
the great principles of civil and relieious liberty
throughout your brilliant career in Perliament, and
by the influence of your name on the large number
of these who have espoused the liberal came in
England, feel it a duty impo,ed upon us by the
present crisis of public affairs to render to you our
most sincere and hearty think; for the labours von
have nndergone and the zeal you have displayed on
behalf of that cue in which we, among many
others, have so deep end impOrtant an interest.
" Aware that, in opposing to the enemies of
freedom the great abilities which you poss&es, and
the untiring energy with which those talents have
been exercised, you have incurred obloquy and en-
countered prejudice by advocating our el:thus to
the rights of conscience, we feel that it would be a
stigma on us as men and citizens, and that we
should be justly esteemed unworthy of the assist-
ance we have received from you, if we were to
withhold this public expression of our gratitude and
sympathy.
"In begging you, then, to accept the thanks we
thus respectfully tender to you, we desire at the
same time to expre4s our deep regret that by un-
toward circumstances we are deprived, for a time
at least, of your valusble aid so freely given.in our
behalf, and that the country should lose the Par-
liamentary services of so great, so useful, and so
honest a man."

The following is Mr. Cobden's reply togibe ad-
thes3

" Midurst, April 24, 1857.

" Sir,—Your let Fer, enclosing a copy of a reso-
lution agreed to by the C ►tholio electors of Leeds,
has, after some d-lay, reached me here, and I have
to beg you to be so ot.lod as to convey to them my
grateful acknowled7ri9nts for their kindness, anti
to assure them that my gratitude is the warmer
from the consciousness I feel that I am quite un-
deserving of this special mark of their favour.
"It is true-that I incurred some little obloquy
in certain quitters by opposing the Ecclesiastical
Titles Bill in 1851, but I did so in consistency wi h
th ►t principle of religious liberty which has always
been the maxim of my political life, acid which I
apply alike to all denominations. Had the mea-
sure affected the church government of the Wes-
leyans, the Independents, or the Baptistl, I should
have equally opposed it. That Bill was a resort, to
the civil power for penalties to prevent a religious
Community from carrying out an organisation which
they consider needful for the full and free exercise
of their faith—an organisation:, be it remembered
to our humiliation, which is in force in every other
country, in some, as in Prussia, with the co-opera-
tion of the Government, and in others, as the
United States, with its neutrality. Such a re-
course to the secular arm in matters of opinion is to
111 Y judgment to return to the persecuting policy of
the dark ages ; for whether we seek to thwart the
free exercise of religious faith by the dungeOn and
the stake or by the milder penalties of an Ecclesi-
astical Titles Bill, the principle is the same, modi-
fied though it be in its action by the spirit of the
ale.

" With these views strengthened by every day's
reflection and experience, I beg to assure you and
the respectable body of my fellow-countrymen who
have done me the honour to address me, that my
humble support play, regardless of consequences t,t
myself, be always reckoned upon for emancipating
them from every vestige of religiousdisqualification
or inequality to which they are unjustly subjected ;
and I remain, Sir, yours very sincerely,
" R.. COBDEN.
"J. Hirst, Esq., Cooper-house, Kirkstal."

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