The Sun.
London, England, 1845-09-11 00:00:00

SOUTHWARK ELECTION.
NOMINATION OF CANDIDATES.

Yesterday being fix' d for the nomination of candidate;
to represent the borough of Southwark, in the room of
the lute Benjamin Wood, Esq., the hustings were erected
at an early hour in Bigtestreet, in front of the Town-
hall. The hour appointed by the Huh Bailiff for optn7
ing the proceedings was ten o'clock, but shortly after
nine o'clock the wide area was densely crowded with as
choice a multitude of non-electors as the river side from
Blackeners to Bermondsey could send forth. There
was a large •inze ion of coalheavers and wharf-porters,
wearing in their hats huge labels with the words
" Pilcher and Ourselves." This powerful, respectable,
and most orderly body of men came to the hustings
headed by an elderly bravo-looking personage, bran-
dishing a broom, and shouting " Pitcher for ever"—
" filcher and a cheap loaf." Immediately in front of
the hustings, and close to the desk (prepared by the
kindness of the High Bailiff for the accommodation of
the public press) there was stationed a crowd of ill-11.-
voured, ragged, and ruffianly boys, of ages from 1:2 to 16,
whokept up an incessant uproar, quite drowning Kith their
jarring trebles the boisterous bellowing of the coal-
heavers. A gentleman on the hustings called to one of
those urchins, asking him to carry a note across the
way ; but the young specimen of "public opinion" re-
plied, "I can't go, lam ono of Pilcher's men !" The
request was made to one of the independent elector's
comrades, but a score or two of the ragamuffins in that
squad shouted out. "You nausn't go, he can't
go—we're Pilcher's men —huzza ! three cheers for
Pilcher. Ha ! Miall—ha ! ha ! ha !" and tremendous
hisses and groans for Mien and Molesworth followed.
Whereupon the negotiation between the hustings and
Pilcher's bowie men" fell to the ground. It is scarcely
necessary to say, now, what sort of reception the several
candidates met with on their appearance upon the hus-
tinge. But it must bo mentioned as somewhat cheese-
ter:sti.3 of the assemblage, that one of Mr. Pilcher's
agents having presented himself on the hustings and
gently rebuked the " men " for their noise.
was answered with cheers and a cry of "We'll want
some beer, master," a reply which elicited renewed
cheers and prodigious laughter. In the delectable pro-
geny of " Young England" here collected, the most dis-
tinguished was a ferocious-looking negro, whose tur-
bulence the whole morning was most disgusting, and
who was occasionally termed by some of his more
facetious associates the" Baebadoes pilchard." Anothar
negro, of more decent appearance, but scarcely more
decent conduct, also signalised himself by the powers of
his voice and the violence of his demeanour.

At ten o'clock the High Bailiff; Mr. Pritchard, accom-
panied by the Deputy Bailiff, Mr. Jones, and Sir John
Pirie, Alderman, came upon the hurting, and were cer-
tainly received in a more orderly and quiet manner
than could have been expected from the previous exhi-
bition of the morning.

The usual preliminaries having been gone throuih,
The HIGH BAILIFF then came forward and said, that
the electors of Southwark were now met to exercise the
rights vested in them by the Constitution.—(Cheers.)
They were met in consequence of the demise of their
late lamented representative, Mr. 13. njamin Wood, anti
without presuming to offer any opinion on the public
merits of that gent]. man, he thought it might he ads
milted that during the period he had acted as their re-
presentative, he had sustained, in the Conauson. House
of Parliament, the character of an indepep-lent, highly
useful, and trustworthy servant. De7fived by death of
those services, they were now me, to elect a successor to
his place in that House-' sneers)—and he need not ad-
dress the constitueS,is of that borough upon the import-
ance of the trust they were that day to ex-
ercise.—(Loud cheers.) He was surrounded by
the influential and wealthy electors of South-
wark, and he was sure that they would show by their
conduct that they estimated aright the important duty
they were met to discharge.—(Cheers) He knew that
where there were so many antagonistic feelings it would
be impossible that some ebullition of feeling should not
take place, and he only hoped that they would assist him
in discharging their duty in such a tutttreer as would
reflect credit upon all.
The proper officer then read the writ, and adminis-
tered the oaths against brih-a, sc,
Mr. W. Hewes the-, camej ' forward,. and for some
minutes the n`
—se was so great that not a word
o eouldbe Beard in his immediate neighbourhood. When
...nee was somewhat restored, he proceeded to say that
he was there present to nominate Sir William Moles-
worth as a fit and proper person to represent
them in Parliament.—(Cheers, groans, and hisses.) He
was a person who would use his utmost endeavour
to procure to the electors of Southwark those privileges
of which they were that day deprived—(Cheers and
confusion)—he meant the elective franchise. He did
not indeed promise them universal suffrage—(Groans)—
but that extension which was Lased upon property.
He supported Sir William Molesworth because he repre-
sented the commercial interest of the borough, being
himself extensively connected with it by the ties of pro-
perty.—(Cheers and hises.) He was an unflinching
advocate for the repeal of the corn-laws.--(Cheers.)
He had advocated this opinion when it was unpopular to
do so, and he had recorded that opinion in the House of
Commons.—(Cheers.) Ile supported Sir Wm. Moles-
worth also because he represented the civil and religious
opinions and feelings of the majority in that great and
important borough, and he advocated religious liberty
with a zeal and an earnestness which would do
honour to their choice.—(Cheers.) He had done to
every man justice in the course of that election ; and
while maintaining his own principles, he did not stigma-
tise those of the other candidates.—(Cheers and hisses.)
He did net resort to the disgraceful placard system.
He did not tax the other candidates with infidelity ; and
he had, at least, sought their suffrages honestly and
fairly. Who did Mr. Filcher represent ? Not the com-
mercial interests of the borough, as had been stated, but
the bigotry and exclusiveness of Toryism.—(Cheers
and hisses.) And who were the friends of Mr. Miall ?
What were the parties. by whom he was surrounded ?
Certainly not those who were interested in the commer-
cial prosperity of the borough, or knew anything of its
trading affairs. He was surrounded by the rwverend
this and that, but not by the commercial gentlemen
of the borough.—(llear, hear.) Ms friends professed
to be advocates of civil and religious liberty ;
but their civil and religious liberty was only for them-
selves, and not for any one else.—(Cheers and uproar.)
He saw none of the eld and staunch supporters of the
Liberal interest in the borough around sir. Miall. He
was supported by the bigotted and the disaffected, and,
among others by Feargus O'Connor and his friends.—
(Loud cheers and hisses.) While these were the sup-
porters of Mr. Miall, Mr. Pilcher was brought forward
by the rank Tories.—(Uproar by Mr. Pilcher's friends.)
As they were impatient of hearing him he would
not lungsr occupy their time, but only say, that to-
morrow would, he had no doubt, see Sir William
Molesworth returned to Parliament as their reprt•sen-
tative.—(Loud cheers and confusion.) He concluded by
moving that gentleman as a fit and proper person to re •
present the borough in Parliament.
Mr. MARTIN seconded the nomination. He was proud
in being able to bring such a candidate before them.
He had been for many years working with them in the
Liberal interest, and before that time be had been on
the present hustings leading them on to victory.—(Loud
cheers and uproar.) He hoped to do so on the present
occasion.—(Loud cheers, and much uproar.) He stood
there to support Sir William Molesworth—(Loud
cheers.) He supported him because he considered him
to be an honest man, and au honest man was the
noblest work of God. Sir W. Molesworth was the advo-
cate ofreligious liberty. He supported the maxim that they
should do unto others as they would that others should
do unto them.—(Loud cheers and hisses.) Ile respected
an honest Tory, but he could not understand the position
of Mr. Miall. The only course left to that gentleman
he had refused to adopt--the submitting' his claims to a
bailot of the electors. He would not longer occupy
their attention, but conclude by seconding the nomina-
tion of Sir Ni. Molesworth, feeling assured that to-
morrow evening the poll would place him in the proud
position of Member of Parliament for the borough of
Southwark.—(Loud chetra and much interruption and
uproar.)
Mr. EDWARD PALMER then came forward to propose
Mr. Pilcher. (He was greeted with immense cheering
b"ybrtoobem,multitude
howhnoowsuorercouupnieddedthethferolnet of the ader with the
hust-
ings ; but the supporters of Molesworth on one side
and Miall on the other had by this time wedged them
in, and it was difficult to determine whether the
friendly centre or . the hostile right and left contri-
buted most to the mingled tumult of cheers
and groans, which rendered the Conservative proposer
for the most part inaudible, even to those who stood
close by his side.)—lie was understood to impress upon
the electors the importance of the duty which they were
this day called upon to perform as Englishmen and free-
men. He strongly recommended to the electors of
Southwark a man whom they all knew, and who was
acquainted with and devoted to their local
ileC
interests:end
to
(Cheers and uproar of every kind.) _e
,o
our gloriout Protestant constitution inuli was
goerhma andati friend
h State,
to which, as it was established in the
owed the most valuable ofs.rett(eUre4
would by party bonds. HeP-
roar.) Mr. Pilcher wouldld g
' °
intoTi civilar
Parliament
tie
iamliheenrtun
bethe supporter of measures,
not men—of principle, not party. He understood the local
wants of the borough and the commercial wants of the
(as we understood) he was opposed to the
lcsowmomrtehrecioaullbdod havey a e 1 i
end
se far as that was/ to be considered an
exclusive caonudnetdry and
interest,
Win.asli aole
sympathyhe could have ro knowledge of their peculiar wants.--
one.
with
the But
electors Sir
(Great uproar.) Mr. Pilcher was well known to
the people of Southwark as a friend to the poor, and s
liberal supporter of their charitable institutions.—
(Cheers and groans.) He would always be found ac-
cessible to his constituents, and he would not fail in the
promise which he had made, that be would meet and
consult thsm on all important occasions —(Applause
and uproar.) Mr. Palmer then proceeded to advert to
the pretensions of the other candidates, but we could
gather but little of what he said. With respect to .Sir
Williom Molesworth, he rAerred to the "Cyclopedia
Britannica" article, " Hobbes" (as we understood), from
which he argued that Sir W. Molesworth, as an advocate.
of that writer, was unworthy to represent a religious
eunstituency.—(Confusion!) Hobbes's book, called" The
Leviathan," was condemned by Parliament in the reign.
of Churles 11., in a Bill against profaneness and Atheism
in the year 1661.—(Uproar continued.) In the yttit
1683, the Convocation ordered his work de cite to be
burnt. And when his physician told him he was about
to die, he said that he should be " gled to find as
last a hole to creep out of the world.`—(Reneweti
confusion, cheers, groans, and yells of every kiud)
Moreover, Hobbes was uttetly opposed to tivil *an?
religt,,us liberty.—(Confusi(n indescribable, which thA
" broom " lead• r vsinly lab u, ed to control.) Mr. r.
next ads erted to the poor-lbw 5, and the avowed sentf-
meuts of Sir W. Molesworth thereon. For his part, be
(it.ir. P.) thought it the pararavuut duty of every Member