The Sun.
London, England, 1842-06-06 00:00:00

► .~.. ~ "

, , „.
IPSWICH 3ELECTION.
TO THE EDITOR OF —THE SUN.
you have given circulation to Mr.
Rennie's letter, I am sure you will have pleasure in
performing the justice of inserting my reply to that
uncalled-for production.
.I am, Sir, your -obedient servant,
RIG-BY WA SON.
9, Pall Mall East, :May 26, 1482.,
TO THE EDITOR .OP THE IPSWICH EXPEES44.
Ipswich, May 18, 1842.
Sir,--I have read, with no little astonishment, a
letter from Mr. Rennie, published on Tuesday last,
containing statements and opinions which I shall
notice separately ; for, in the whole letter, I find only
one. opinion in which I can coincide, and that is,
where he says, ." he. will prosecute those witnesses
whose perjuries and mis-statements misled the Com-
mittee, if any.of our friends are prosecuted." I have
already. taken the necessary steps on this point, and
know that our friends' best protection is the infathy
of the character of the witnesses. Mr. Rennie's con-
cluding paragraph runs thus :—"I have now stated, to
-the best of.my recollection, all the material facts of
the proposition to which Mr. Wagon has alluded in
his letter to Mr. Stephens ; and whether the conrse I
recommend was right or wrong, 1 deave to the consi-
deration of the ,constituency."
Mr. Rennie may most safely appeal tothe consti-
tuency, for no doubt the 600 Tories who Voted againt
us at the election will declare that he was right in
the recoMmendation he gave—for that in fact. was
what the Tories wished—that. was their game—it does
not follow that, because it was their gime, it might not
he prudent to accede to it ; but withoutthe slightest
fear of the result, I appeal to the Liberal electors, to
Those who voted for us at the late election, to say
whether they Mast, approve of the conduct of AIL
Rennie or myself upon this occasion ? and I will take
cam that in this and subsequent letters the points
shall be fairly and . fully stated, so that their opinion
may be:formed upon all the facts of the case, and not
the meagre outline :which Mr. Rennie has made, and
which he most truly calls " a simple narrative. 7
Mr. Rennie says, that he holds the doctrine " that
discretion is the,' better part of valour." I hold the
Same principle, and the only difference between us is
our different application of it ; he considers that " dis-
cretion" is better shown by embarking in a contest,
every evil of which was clearly foreseen, foretold,.
and pointed out to him by myself, and then, when
the danger came, bolting from the conflict ; whereas,
I venture to think, that no contest should be entered
into without a full and careful consideration of all the
consequences, but that when commenced, in 99 cases
out of 100, it is better to fight it out to the end rather
than to concede that which was refused previous to
the conflict ; and is it to be a proof of .Mr. Rennie's
discretion, that he thinks this case ought to be the
exception—this case wherein, if a compromise had
taken place, Ipiwich would have been classed in the
same catalogue with Nottingham, and with Har-
wich—beginning with an exposure infinitely greater
than that which has taken place, and ending by the
probable expulsion from the House of Commons, with-
out the -feather-bed of a. Tory Committee to break
the fall ?
I cannot help thinking, that when Mr. Rennie was
penning his " simple' narrative," it would be better
for him to have begun at the beginning instead of
the middle, and to have stated all the circumstances
as they occurred previous to entering into the con-
test, and which would have undoubtedly thrown con-
siderable light on the subsequent proceedings.
.But,
however, as he has chosen to begin in the middle—
viz., with what occurred when I returned from Ips-
wich—l will follow him in the path he has chosen to
pursue, doubtless thinking that it would be more ad-
vantageous for his purposes, although those purposes
may be much more easily implied from his letter, than
collected from any explicit declaration.
Mr. Rennie has, it appears to me, very unneces-
sarily paraded the names of Mr. Hill, Mr. Austins
and Mr. Summers Harford—and the Lewes election
and .the Brighton election—when he saw in my let-
ter to which he has adverted, a plain and distinct pro-
position, which he. might be certain was always
ready to defend without seeking a shelter under the
opinion of any person, or under any case which
might or might not he analagons. The statement 1
made is this :---," Yes, it was gravely proposed that
I should resign my seat, With a personal charge of
bribery hanging over my head; with the unqualified
approbation of every man of honour and integrity, I
refused to listen to the proposal."
When 1 wrote that paragraph—nay, until I read
Mr. Rennie's letter, I had not the slightest recollec-
tion, nor do 1 at this moment remember, or do I
believe that Mr.
_Rennie ever urged me to resign.
On the contrary, I should have said, if asked the:
question, that Mr. -Rennie had behaved during the
discussion with the most proper and delicate feeling,
and that he left the question to be decided snit ought
to be by those who had no personal interest or feeling
in it. I know not under what circumstances
Harford retired from Parliament, or why it was that
Mr. Austin counselled him to do so ; I know not.
.whether these circumstances had or had not anything'
to do with the • recent contest at Brighton,.
or why it . was that the .Reformers, who in
July last had a majority of some hundreds, were
'beaten at the last election, and in the proportion
of two to one. What have theSe' things to 'do with.
the plain statement • made' in My letter ? It
.Mr.
Rennie differed frorn' that Opinion, why did he not
openly state his..rea.sons, and then I could have.conis..
bated them ? -But taappeal to circumstances which
are not fully known-r-to refer to opinions, when we
are in total ignorance of the facts on which- those
opinions were given, does not appear to me a very
satisfactory mode 'of arriving at a just conclusion ;
and I think it might
_have occurred to Mr. Rennie
that if Mr. Harford was justified in resigning, be-
cause he was advised to do so by his counsel, Mr.
Austin, I was alsajustified in refusing to entertain
the proposition, when advised not to do so by the
Unanimous and 'decided opinion of Mr. Hill and Mr. •
Phillips; surely he cannot be so ignorant of the feel-
ings of the bar, .as to put the opinion of these gentle-
men, for high and honourable conduct, below that of
Mr. Austin ; and most assuredly there were passages
before that,CatriMittee, and to which I have already
publicly alluded, Which should have led Mr. Rennie
to retract such an opinion, if, indeed, he had ever
forined it:

Having. now replied to the interlocutory matter
introduced into Mr: Rennie's letter, I will, in my
next, follow his statements, paragraph by paragrapfi,
and will then cheerfully abide by the opinion, not of.
the "constituency;" as Mr. Rennie wishes, but of the
Liberal electors, Whether I have not acted with dis-
cretion and integi. itY on every point •Mr. Rennie has
raised. And then I.shall in my turn ask the Liberal
electors whether they approve of Mr. Rennies conduct
in the House of Commons when he volunteered his
statement the evening I endeavoured to defend Lucas ;
and also whetho he did right in leaving me to finish
the contest at my own expense, when it was entered
into under the circumstances I will narrate; and
lastly, whether if a compromise was to be entered
into, it ought not to have been before the Committee

was appointed, and when both parties, having an equal
chance of obtaining a Chairman, would be more
reasonable in their. demands ; besides the important
advantage of being able to take the opinions and con-
sult. the wishes of the Liberal electors on so impOrtant
a step. I Ventured :to think at the ,time that such a
course was one iit'::.".41,4106,";, fir., flermie %.11:;
differentopinlonibMt.
,/#3, frgl iiOkcicTty tsuch a cour,e
would havelnive"lnen4ittendedwith all the advantages
which he has enlimmtrd, ma-would' most assuredly
have given him more,. right "to. have exonerated
himself from all responsibility or charge of lielfit=h-
ness," than he possihlyeau have in mating an offer
of his seat, which he was, told would not be accepted.
It may also be worth while to consider whether Mr.
:Rennie has exercised- a very sound discretion" in
.commencing this diScussion: at any rate I most. Sin-
cerely thank him for using the word " discretion,"
which I cannot think has been a very distinguishing
trait in Mr. Itennie's conduct as evinced in his con-
nexion with Ipswich.
I am, Sir, your very obedient Servant,

RIGBY WA SON.

.
The following aeeount of an arrest made on Friday
in the neighbourhood .Of the Place Vendome is given by the
Gazette des Tribu-naux :—" On the 25th April the London
correspondent of a large mercantile house at St. Petersbtri
intrusted to a broker, named Thomas Gowrester, the wp;,raut,
for a quantity of goods, amounting in value to aboP", 2043000
francs, iu French money, for the purpose of Vffecting sales.
Gowrester immediately went to a Loudon kanking house, and
obtained from it a considerable sum 'in advance upon these
warrants, and immediately Once:tided, and came over to
Havre with the money. Not 'speaking a word of French, he
wandered for a time throwgh Normandy and Britanny, and
at length found his way to Paris. In the meantime, three
persons belonging to the house he had defrauded were sent
off in pursuit of the fugitive, in as many different direc-
tions. One of them, Mr. C., accompanied by an English police
officer, came to Paris, and with the assistance of the Pre-
fecture, 50011 succeeded in finding and arresting their man,
who, although hehad a passport in the name of Harry Tandem,
signed by the English Consul, as well as the French authori-
ties at Brest, having the fear of Botany Bay before his eyes,
immediately acknowledged his identity, confessed the robbery.
and, entreatink mercy, voluntarily delivered op 117,0001., all
that remained nut of I 70,000 f. he had brought over with hint.
Mr. C., upon this, with praiseworthy generosity, returned him
2.500 f., recommending him to go with it to America or India,
and there endeavour to obtain an honest livelihood. Mr. C.
also left him some jewels, a chronometer, and several other ar-
ticles of value. which he had purchased since his arrival in
France. Gowrester, who since his !light has been declared a
bankrupt, has left debts to the amount of 1,000,0001., all of
which he lost in the hells of London."
'MILITARY GOSSIP.—The authorities of the liorso
Guards are about to Substitute an Austrian cap for that now
worn by the Rifles, as being far more convenient and suitable
for the peculiar services of that distinguished corps. Our mi..
Mary friends who have grumbled at the horsehair on the new
helmets of the Life Guards being white, will be glad to hear
that it is to be forthwith dyed black.— Observer.
On Saturday, in the Marylehoue Vestry, a resolu-
tion confirming the last minute of the Vestry, for paying Ox-
ford-street with wood, was carried by 40 to 11.---malority 29,
which entirely terminates the question.