The Sun.
London, England, 1844-02-10 00:00:00

SALISBURYTOWNC—OUNCIL.
SALISBURY, Ferna Y.—A well-attended meeting
took place at. the Rose and Crown Inn, last evening,
which was literally crammed to excess, to consider
the most efficient and proper means to secure the
return of John Lambert, Esq., as Town Councillor
for the Ward of St. Thomas, vacated by the lamented
and sudden death of T. N. Chubb, Esq., one of the
freemen of this city..
The address of Mr. Lambert was then read, and re-
ceived with evident marks of approbation, when some
gentleman present rose and proposed a gentleman
named Fulford, a linendraper of the High-street,
who is the opponent of Mr. Lambert, on the Con-
servative interest, as a fit and proper person for their
support ; whereupon a third party proposed that a
deputation should be dispatched to Mr. Fulford to
request that he would be pleased to honour the meet-
ing with his presence, and to state his political senti-
ments, and his opinion of the manner in which their
municipal elections had been and ought to be con-
ducted; and finally, if returned, whether he would vote
that the business of the city may be conducted with
open doors, or in the dark, as at present. This proposi-
tion, however, was overruled, on the ground that it
would be a waste of time, it being evident that Mr.
Fulford would go the whole hog for the Tories,
although Mr. F. had issued no address. Several
gentlemen then addressed the meeting as to. the im-
portance they should attach to the prevent occasion—
the best methods to be employed—so that " not
a stone may be left unturned " to serve
the cause of Mr. Lambert, and concluded with im-
pressive appeals for them to be ready at their post of
duty. Shortly afterwards Mr. Lambert's arrival was
announced, and received with very great applause.
Mr. LAMBERT then rose, and said he was sorry he
could not address them at any lngth, as he had
another engagement to attend to ; however, by their
kind permission while there, he would do himself the
honour of saying a few words on a subject which
they were pretty well aware of, he alluded to the va-
cancy which had occurred in their municipal corpora-
tion.—(Cheers.) Now he was quite satisfied that if
they properly, exerted themselves, and their friends
proved true, then the result of the election would be
what they desired, and what their adversaries antici-
pated.—(Hear, hear.) At the same time, were they
not thus to exert themselves, then they might depend
that success would attend the wily efforts of their op-
ponents. By the very numerous and respectable as-
semblage then present, it was quite evident that they
were now in such a position as to be enabled to pro-
perly test what their real strength was, and which
it would be very satisfactory for them to ar-
rive at.—(Hear, hear, and cheers.) That Is they
would by this test know who their real friends were,
and who in heart were their opponents ; and they
would further know whether in the ward of St.
Thomas they were in a majority or minority. . He
would therefore exhort them to diligence and perse-
verance, and he would also exhort them to encourage
a conciliatory spirit and unanimity one with another,
and they may rely that truth and justice must.be the
stars for them to sail by. And they may
also rely that if they suffered themselves to be
diverted from those paths, just in proportion would
their cause suffer by it.--(Cheers.) All petty ani-
mosity should be entirely done away with, and it was
to their interest, equally as much as it was their
duty, to make as many friends as they possibly could.
And they mu.t bear in mind that a faithful discharge
of their political duty was as much a part of the
Christian code, as that of loving their enemies. And
if they were not prepared to love their political
enemies, then they were not' fit to• carry on their
cause ; and this was 'the' test by which they must
alone hope to carry the day.—(Hear, hear.) And
if they could not love their political enemies, then he
would tell them that they could not expect to suc-
ceed ; but if so, then there was something in their
enemies' hearts which would at length yield to kind
reasoning; and this they must do by continuing to
bring before them truth, which must prevail! Truth
was of a very slow progress, and so was Christianity,
which had now been in the world 1,800 years : and
the triumph of their cause may also be very slow,
but at the same time it was certain.—(Cheers.) He
had now much stronger hopes of success in the forth-
coming contest than he had on the last occasion ; and
he would only tell them this, that if they did not
oarry their point this time it would not be the fault
of their enemies but of themselves.—(Mr. Lambert
here directed the attention of the meeting to an
anonymous letter, which he said he received subse-
quently to the late municipal election contest for St.
Martin's Ward, when Mr. Kelsey, the Tory candi-
date, defeated him by only sixteen votes, and when a
majority of at least forty votes was expected.) Mr.
Lambert also said he had abundant proof in his pos-
session that this criticism on the late election was in
the hand-writing of a gentleman of independent for-
tune and of undoubted respectability, who had always
hitherto acted with the Conservative party, and who
voted against him on that last occasion. The follow-
ing is a copy of this anonymous epistle :
" Salisbury, Jan. 10, 1844.
" GLORIOUS- TRIUMPH.
" Such was the heading of a handbill announcing the
close of the poll at the election of a town-councillor for
the Ward of St. Martin, the result of which was much
as it was expected it would be,
except that the majority
for Mr. E. E. P. Kelsey was about sixteen less than
even his own party thought it would be—indeed, some
of that party imagined_ that Mr. Lambert would not Doll
twenty votes. However, no one expected that Mr.
Lambert would succeed on that occassion ; but it was a
good beginning, and promises a better result in future.
" It is to be hoped the electors will not hereafter be
dictated to by half a dozen ultra-Tories, who have the
last few years carried everything their own way in Sa-
lisbury, disbursed the borough funds just as they
pleased, and distributed the city charities,
and most of
the subordinate offices, amongst their own pa rtu t
" The election busy-bodies, were geing
(Roman Catholic, no doubt, they
ra about
meant); you must
as if the
support the. Church,' and such twaddle ;
Pro-
testant Church would be at all endangered by a Roman
last
week, saying, You must not vote fora Catholic,'
Catholic becoming a town-councillor. Some few of the
electors were led away by such an argument, but many
were too sen•ible to be misled : they know that Roman
Catholics, Dissenters, Quakers, &c., are ail by law
eligible for seats in the town-council as well as in Par-
liament,; and it is but just that all sects and classes
should be represented in offices of town and state.
" In Salisbury, I am happy to • say, there is a great
deal of talent and ability amongst the Liberal party,
and it is a pity they have not come forward 'luring the
last four years for the different offices. They should
recollect the maxim of Nothing venture, nothing
have.' They should consider what has been gained by
their party
.in the kingdom during the last
_fifteen or
twenty years."
Now the Conservative party denied the existence of
such correspondence, and said that if such did exist
the author was not a Conservative gentleman (as he
had stated in his printed address). But the evidence
which he (Mr. L.) could submit, to substantiate his
offer to refer it to the most
evidence to show that
the stamp on the
u
assertion, would convince the most sceptical party,
and
lultra-Tory.
a Tre was.perfectlyn tvilolifin
He could
paper of this anonymous letter cor-
responded with another sheet of paper on which the
author wrote him a letter in his own name previously;
that precisely the same abreviations were employed
in these two letters, and on close comparison had
found that the author wrote on both occasions
with the same " black lines," though the first letter
he had received from him was nine months ago.
Still he owed this gentleman no and his
letter was a proof that they had conducted
manner.them-
selves in a proper --(Cries of " Hear, hear.")
And if there was one among them that had not acted
properly, he was altogether unworthy of the cause
which he espoused, and should be disregarded as such.
—(Cheers.) And the same remarit he may apply to
the anonymous writer, or any other of his party. All
he could say was, that had any of his (Mr. Lambert's)
party written and published such a letter, he ought
to be viewed by them in a very suspicious manner.
As he had told them on a former occasion, so he would
now repeat, that he was prepared to fight their battles
again and again, till, by dint of perseverance, they
got a majority.—(Cheers.) Some person had made a
remark by saying, " Get a majority in your munici-
pal affairs, and then you r may y cave your other
matters to the boys ! " There was great
truth in this, for he had heard that certain
underlings, good men at heart, had been
heard to confess that, in their hearts they
were on their side—(Cheers)—but wore compelled to