Star.
London, England, 1819-08-06 00:00:00

nuTSICIRE ELECTION.

During the whole of the last day of this Election,
the partisans of Mr. BENETT kept arriving at Salis-
bury from all parts of the County in numerous well-.
compacted bodies. They one and all bore in their
hats large bows of blue and pink ribbons, on which
were inscribed " Benett and Victory." Most of them
had given their votes. in inrmqr days, so that they
did not much increase the
..I.utnhers which Mr. BE-1
NETT had already obtained up,)4 the Poll; some few,
however, had determined not to tender their votes
till the very last minute of the Election, and had
called themselves, in consequence, Mr. lieNorr's ar-
my of reserve. These began to poll about eleven
o'clock, and thus gave a decided majority, on this the
last day, to the man of their choice. The freeholders
in the interest of Mr. ASTLEY did not, however, cease
to offer their votes because their exertions appeared
to be useless; but at last having exhausted their
strength, they quitted the malthouse in a body, and
left it in the undivided possession of the friends of
Mr. BENETT.

After the pcll bad been closed, the sword with
which the Knight of the Shire is -invested, on his
being declared duly elected, was brought. As soon
as it was seen by the crowd (and the person who
brought it brandished it aloft very conspicuously),
they burst into the song of " GOD ave the King,"
and cheered the bearer of it most loudly. Theban--
ner-rnen and the band then began to take the respec-
tive stations which they were to bold in the proces-
sion ; and this had scarcely been done, before a stout
Partisan of Mr. BENETT, who had scarcely been off
horseback during the whole Election, cried out in a
loud voice—" John Benett, Esq. come forward ; the
High Sheriff demands your presence." As soon as the: e,
words vibrated upon the ears of the multitude, they
rushed with the loudest acclamations to the place
where Mr. 13Es:Err was standing, and for some time,
by the pressure which they made upon him, preven-
ted him reaching the spot where the High Sheriff' and
the Assessors were waiting to declare to him the re-
sult of the contest.

When this had been effected, when the return had
been signed, and' Mr. BENETT had been invested with
the sword and, spurs, he returned t• his friends at the
malt-house. In his absence they had hoisted upon
one pole, a placard, stating Mr. BENETT'S majority
to be altogether 166, and upon two others, the words
" See the Conquering Hero comes !" Onh.ks.return,
the band struck up the tune whose commencing line
we hilve just quoted, and tlys multitude joined in the
chorus to the song.
Mr: BENETT then ascended the top of a stage-
coach which had been used for the conveyance of his
voters from various parts of the County, and was
supported on each side by a friend holding a banner.
As soon as he had taken his seat in this position, the
concave of Heaven rang with another tremendous
shout; after which the procession began to move
through the different streets of Salisbury, greeting
and greeted by those of their friends who lay along
the line of its march.

On reaching the inarket place, Mr, BENETT C 0121.1
menced his Address of Thanks to the populace.—
" They had now;' he said, " fulfilled the promise
which they had made to him ; they had rct'.irned him
as their representative; and so long as they honoured
him with their support, he would not be backward
in maintaining their independence—(Cheers.) They
had fought a noble fight, and by their unparalleled
exertions had rendered their triumph complete—
(Cheers.) He had said at the commencement of the
contest, that, assisted, by their truth, their honour,
and their Itcriesty, victory was certain to betide him,
and he had rot been mistaken in the opinion' which
he had formed--(Cheers.) They had that day won in
fair battle, the independence of the county, and won
it in such a manner as deeply impressed him with the
conviction that the privileges of the, commoners of
Wiltshire would henceforward be inviolate for ever.—
The struggle in which they had been engaged was no
common struggle ; it was a struggle against the com-
bined influence of the Peers,. and other powerful fa-
milies of Ere county, who had wished to exercise an
undue interference in the choice of their Representa-
tives ; against that influence they had fought man-
fully, and he was again happy to repeat it, triumph-
ed gloriously.—(Cheers.)—As his voice was still
weak from indisposition, he should now refer to what
was the most material point on which he could speak
—his future conduct. He was well aware of the
duties which he had to perform, and the responsibi-
lity which he had to,incur. He should go into the
House of Commons perfectly unshackled : he had
given no pledge to suppoi t any men or any measures:
he felt no attachment to the patty in opposition, nor
even to the party in power: he should give no others
support to Government than that which would enable,
it to carry its measures, when acting for the good of',
the People.—(Cheers.)—ln his opinion a greater Imo-,
nour than that which they had just bestowed on him
could not exist ; there was no pension nor pay which
he could receive from the greatest monarch in the
world that he would exchange for it."
The procession then moved on to the White Hart
Inn, where Mr. BENE'I'T again went over the same'
subjects ; after which the whole procession retired to
their respective habitations. The evening passed off
quietly, if we except a few heads which were broken
in combats between individuals : there was nothing,
at least, like a general tumult or disturbance.
Major Astley retired,
.in the course of the morn-
ing, to his seat at Notton-hall, and has. expressed a
determination to bring the proceedings of the pre-
sent Election before the House of Commons. It is
s rid that he maintains, that among the votes which
have been polled for Mr. BD:Err, there are '240 ille-
gal votes.
The partisans of Mr. BENETT. feel very proud of
the triumph which they have gained over the Peers
of the County. With the exception of the Marquis
of LANSDOWN and Lord HOLLAND, they say that,
every other Peer in the County interfered in behalf
of Mr. ASTLEY. We understand that Sir F. BUR.
DETT, Sir B. HOBHOUSE, Mr. WILBERFORCE, and
some other Gentlemen of notoriety, held themselves
entii ely neutral during the Election.
The Promenade in the Long Walk of Windsor]
Park was thronged with company on Sunday even-'
ing. Most of the neighbouring Nobility and Gentry
were in their carriages. The pedestrians were very
numerous. The great attraction.was the perforinance
of the‘Band of the Royal Horse•Guaxdx and another
Military Band.