The Sun.
London, England, 1842-06-09 00:00:00

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IPSWICH ELECTION

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TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
Sm, —As you have given circulation to 10,..„ k. -
Rennie's letter, I am sure you will have pleasure
performing the justice of inserting my reply to that
uncalled-for production.
I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
RIGBY WASON.
9, Pall Mall East, May 26, 1482.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE IPSWICH EXPRESS.

Ipswich, May 18, 1842.
Sir,—l 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 infamy-
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. Wilson has alluded in
his letter to Yr. Stephens; and whether the course I
recommend was right or wrong, I leave to the consi-
deration of the constituency."
Mr. Rennie may most safely appeal to the consti-
tuency, for no doubt the 600 Tories who voted against
us at the election will declare that he was right hi
the recommendation he gave—for that in fact was.
what the Tories wished—that was their game—it does.
not tbllow that, because it was their game, it might not
be prudent to accede to it ; but without the 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 most approve of the conduct of Mr-
Rennie or myself upon this occasion ? and I will take.
care 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."
Mr. Rennie says, that he holds the doctrine " Hitt
discretion is the better partof 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 casei;
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, Ipswich 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
tbr 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. Austin,
and Mr. Summers Haribrd—and the Lewes election
and the Brighton electionhen he saw in my let-
ter to which he has adverted, a plain and distinct pro-
position, which he might be ssessin I was always
ready to defend without seeking , fa'selter under the
opinion of any person, or under any case which
might or might not be analogous. The 81:,stement I
made is this :—" Yes, it was gravely propos,'d that
I should resign my seat, with a personal charge of
bribery hanging over my head; with the unquallOed
approbation of every man of honour and integrity, I
refused to listen to the proposal."
When I wrote that paragraph—nay, until I read
Alr. Rennie'. letter, I had not the slightest recollec-
tion, nor do I at this moment remember, or do
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 as it ought
to be by those who had no personal interest or feeliag;
in it. I know not under what circumstances Mr-
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 ? If Mr.
Rennie differed from that opinion, why did he not
openly state his reasons, and then I could have com-
bated them ? But to appeal to circumstances which
are not fully known—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 also justified 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 Committee, and to which I have already
publicly alluded, which should have led Mr. Rennie
to retract such an opinion, if, indeed, he had ever
formed it..

Having now replied to the interlocutory matter
introduced into Mr. Rennie's letter, I will, in my
next, follow his statements, paragraph by paragraph.
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 integrity on every point Mr. Rennie has -
raised. Ar.d then I shall in my turn ask the Liberal
electors whether they approve of Mr. Rennie's conduct
in the House of Commons when he volunteered his
statement the evening I endeavoured to defentlLucasi
and also whether 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 cc' -
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 of " discretion." Mr. Rennie was of
differentopinion,but he will not deny that such a course
would have have been attemled with all the advantages
which he has enumerated, and would most assuredly
have given him more right ." to have exonerated
himself from all respOnsibility or charge of selfish-
ness," than he possibly can have in making 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. Rennie's .conduct as evinced in his con-
nexion with Ipswich.
I am, Sir, your very obedient Servant,
RIGBY WASON.

The following account of an arrest made on Friday
in the neighbourhood of the Place Vendome is given by the
Gazette des Tribunaux :—" On the 25th April the London
correspondent of a large mercantile house at St. Petersburgh
intrusted to a broker, named Thomas Gowrester, the d4l-rants
for a quantity of goods, amounting in value to about 200,000
francs, in French money, for the purpose of effecting sales.
Gowrester immediately west to a London banking house, and
obtained from it a considerable sum in advance upon these
warrants, and immediately absconded, end came over to
Havre with the money. riot speaking a word of French, he
wandered for a time through 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., accompaniedby an English police
officer, came to Paris, and with the assistance of the Pre-
fecture, soon succeeded in finding and arresting their man,
who, although hebada 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 rotibery.
and, entreattnt, mercy, voluntarily delivered up 117,000 f., all
that remained out of 170,000 f. he had brought over with him.
Mr. C., upon this, with praiseworthy generosity, returned hiss
200 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 sr-
tides of value, which he had purchased since his arrival in
France. Gowrester, who since his flight has been declared a
bankrupt, has lett debts to the amount of 1,000,000 f., all of
which he lost in the hells of London."

V e•
MILITARYba Gossn..—The authorities of the Horse
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 or that distinguished corps. Our mi-
litary friends who have grumbled at the horsehair on the new
helmets of the Life Geoids being whits, will be glad to hear
that it is to be forthwith dyed Mich.—Observer.
On Saturday, in the Marylebone Vestry, a resolu-
tion confirming the last minute of the Vestry, for paving Ox.
ford-street with wood, NI Is carried by 40 to 11—majority 29,
which entirely terminates the question.