The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-02-02 00:00:00

(FROM OUR OWN REPORTER.)

Our readers are of course familiar with the extraordinary
excitement prevalent in reference to this election, owing to
the intrusion of a candidate by the Anti-Corn Law League.
The candidates are Mr. J. Nielson Gladstone, on the con-
servative interest ; and Mr. J. B. Smith, of Manchester, as

the nominee of the league

ill. About 3,000 persons were
present. At nine o'clock the mayor, with the candidates
and their friends, arrived on the hustings ; and, after the

The nomination took place yes-

terday, in front of the Town-

CHARLES FOSTER, Esq., late member for the borough,
nominated Mr. J..N. Gladstone as a fit and proper person
for the representation of the borough.

SAMUEL PERKINS, Esq., ironfounder, seconded the nomi-

nation

CHARLES F. COTTERILL, Esq., proposed Mr. J. B. Smith
as a fit and proper person.
SAMUEL MILLS, Esq., one of the magistrates for the bo-
rough, seconded the nomination.
Mr. J. N. GLADSTONE rose, amidst loud cheers from his
friends, mingled with groans from the opposite party, and
said he felt indeed most grateful to his honourable friend Mr.
Foster, and to Mr. Perkins, for the very kind and flattering
terms with which they had connected his name, in introducing
him to the notice of the assembly. He was not so vain as ,to
suppose that he was in any way deserving of the terms in
which they had named him ; but he could assure them if he
should have the honour to be returned a member for that
borough, (uproar) it should be his honest and strenuous en-
deavour to prove that he was not totally unworthy of
it. He rejoiced to meet so large and respectable a
body on the present occasion—(loud cheers)—an occa-
sion provided by the constitution of the country, at
which the opposing candidates met each other face to face
in the most public and open manner. He rejoiced to have
this opportunity of es plaining to them his political senti-
ments—his opinions not only upon subjects of immediate
importance, but upon political topics generally. He had
already had opportunities of addressing different bodies of the
electors, and he had taken every opportunity that had been
afforded him in the course of his canvass to request them to
question him most closely upon all topics. On all those oc-
casions he had declared himself what he trusted he should
continue to be to the last moment of his existence, a decided
conservative. He was from conviction deeply attached to
the constitution of this country in church and state,—(much
uproar)—because he believed that under that constitution
this country had enjoyed more real practical happiness than
any country in the world. (Hear, hear.) He should there-
fore feel it to be his duty to oppose any measures under the
specious title of reform, which had for their real object, not
the improvement of the constitution, but its destruction ;
(cheers and hisses, and great uproar)—at the same time he
should not be opposed to any well considered reform
which might be:brought forward with the honest intention of
strengthening the constitution, and promoting the best inter-
ests of the country. (Cheers.) Feeling, as he did, a deep-
rooted attachment to the church, feeling as he did that she
had been the bulwark of the liberties of the country—(mingled
groans and cheers drowned the remainder of the sentence.
Immediately afterwards one of Mr. Smith's men made
his appearance amongst the crowd, with a most offensive
handbill pasted on a board, which caused much confusion ;
the placard, however, was immediately torn down by a police
officer.) Mr. Gladstone, in continuation, said that, under the
conviction of these feelings, he did not entertain the slightest
idea of hostility towards the dissenters, if they did not wish for
the destruction of the church. He should be a friend to the
strictest economy, but he considered that would be poor eco-
nomy which would starve the services of the country, and ren-
der them inefficient for the purposes for which they were in-
tended. Now for the subject upon which they had heard so
much, viz., free trade. (The man Acland, who was stationed
on a platform in front of the Dragon Inn, here exhibited a cart-
er's whip, which he called a slave-whip and cracked it, to the
infinite amusement of Mr. Smith and his friends. Uproar fol-
lowed this dxhibition, which prevented Mr. G. from pro-
ceeding; the mayor, however, interfered and restored order.)
Mr. Gladstone continued to say, that by free trade he un-
derstood that all export and import duties all over the world
should be removed. (Hear, hear, and cries of " No,
no." During the interruption Acland exhibited a
pair of leg-irons which he had borrowed from the
police-office below. He shook them before the people
and called them a pair of real slave manacles. Great cheer-
ing followed, during which Acland let the irons fall, and they
fell on the head of a boy who was standing underneath, and
knocked him down. The lad was immediately picked up,
and appeared to be much hurt.)—Mr. Gladstone, in conti-
nuation, said, that however desirable such a state of things,
as was contemplated by the free traders, might be, it was
barely practicable. We could only legislate for ourselves,
and those who would pretend to do otherwise, by exciting the
minds of the people, were only deluding them. He did not
stand there as the advocate of the agricultural interest. The
interest of his family in land was as nothing whatever com-
pared with that which they had in trade. He had no reason
whatever to regret the course he had taken on his first ar-
rival in Walsall, when he refused to have any communica-
tion with the anti-corn law league or association ; (hear,
hear)—the course those gentlemen had pursued since, their
attempts to flatter the had feelings and to excite the passions
of the people would not induce him to change his opinions.—
(Hear, hear, and some hisses.)—He conceived their interfer-
ence in this election most unconstitutional. Before he ar-
rived in Walsall, what had appeared in the Anti-corn law
Circular? He had seen it there announced, that it being the
intention of Mr. Finch to retire from parliament, the Anti-
Corn-Law League, or Association, let them take which term
they liked best, were determined that no candidate should be
returned who would not vote for a total and immediate repeal
of the corn-laws. (Hear, hear.) What was that but a sys-
tem of dictation ? In what other light could they consider the
numerous addresses which had been sent to Walsall? And
what, he would ask, had strangers to do with an election
for that borough ? (Great laughter, and hear, hear.) The
Anti-Corn Law League must have supposed that the
electors of Walsall were indeed a set of incapables, who did
not know their own interest, and therefore they had very
kindly come forward to shew them what to do. (Hear, hear.)
That, he considered, was paying a very poor compliment to
the intelligence of the electors. When he (Mr. G.) came
forward as a candidate, he felt that he had no right to hold
such a position ; and so long as the opposition to him welt
conducted in a straightforward manner, he had no thought oi
complaining ; but he did complain that gross misrepresenta-
tion had been made use of against him; he complained that in-
ducements had been held out by his opponents to the elector:
to break their promises which they had made to him, because
a third candidate had come forward. (Hear.) If such a
principle as that was to be recognised there was an end to all
honour and honesty, and there was an end to all confidence
between man and man. He trusted that his honour-
able opponent, Mr. Smith, did not recognise such prin-
ciples ; but he must repeat, that, over and over again
in the course of his canvass he had been told of elec-
tors who had been solicited by his opponents to break
their promises previously made to him, merely because a
a third candidate had come forward. On the other hand, he
appealed to every gentleman who knew him—he appealed to
every elector, if in any similar case he had asked any indivi-
vidual to break his promises to Mr. Smith, when he knew
that his vote had been promised to Mr. Smith. (Cheers,
answered by cries of " Oh, oh !") He had to complain
also, as all those who venerated the Bible must complain,
that texts from the Holy Scriptures had been quoted,
which had no bearing whatever upon the subject of
free trade, merely for a party purpose. He had to
complain that the corners of the streets had been pla-
carded with texts from the Holy Scriptures on one side, and
some most gross misrepresentations on the other. He con-
fidently hoped that there was no minister of religion in the
town who approved of the course which had been thus pur-
sued. For instance, he held in his hand a placard, issued
nominally by 95 Wesleyans, calling upon the electors to give
their support to Mr. Smith. The fact was, that there were
only 30 out of that number who were Wesleyans : and this he
had learned- from the highest authority. So far from the
Wesleyans being in favour of his honourable opponent, he
was proud to number amongst his (Mr. G.'s) supporters
the largest proportion of the Wesleyan body in Walsall. The
Wesleyans, indeed, were found ranked all over the kingdom
on the side of conservatism. He had to complain further ofthe
means which had been used to calumniate the character of
his father, which was dearer to him than his own. Most atro-
cious falsehoods had been circulated against his revered pa-
rent. His father had never had any connection whatever with
the slave trade—(great confusion followed this sentence, du-
ring which Mr. Rawson held up a copy of the parliamentary
report of the slave compensation claims, and pointed
to Mr. Gladstone's name, which he said stood oppo-
site to a very large sum.) The electors had heard that
his father had received a sum which might appear to be
a great deal, as compensation money. That he did not mean
to deny ; but if any one was to blame, who was it? Why, it
was the parliament of the country who had voted the money
and apportioned that amount to his father.—Did they sup-
pose that if the money had been offered to them, they being
in the same situation, that they would have refused it ? The
amount of compensation voted by the country to the West
India proprietors bore no comparison with the losses they
had sustained, but they did not complain, neither did he nor
those who were connected with him complain. His impres-
sion and belief was that slavery was a national sin, and, there-
fore the West India proprietors were content to bear their share
of the loss arising from its extinction with the people of this
country, who were morally and in the sight of God as much
responsible for the state of slavery as long as it existed in
our colonies, as the West India proprietors themselves.
He would now say a few words upon a subject which had
been placed in a prominent position on this occasion. First,
they must allow him to congratulate his hon. opponent
on the extreme felicity of having found a gentleman to pro-
pose him, who differed from him on the subject of corn law
repeal. Mr. Smith was set forward there as the advocate of
a body, who said that they did not wish fora modification, but
that whatethey wanted was, a total repeat of the corn laws ;
his (Mr. Smith's) proposer on the other hand, of whom he
wished to speak with respect, as Mr. Foster had already said,
had promised his support to Mr.Lyttleton, who would not vote
for a total repeal, yet he now brought forward Mr. Smith,
who was for a total repeal, although he differed with him on
that important subject ! (Hear, hear.) As he had said before,
he did not appear there, as the advocate of the landed interest !
The interests of himself and his family were almost altogether
connected with trade, his father had been for more than half
a century, a merchant in Liverpool ; nearly the whole of his
connections were embarked in trade and manufactures ; and
he (Mr. J. N. Gladstone) did not stand there as the hired
delegate of any body, he was not there as the member of any
league or asssociation come there for the avowed purpose of
advocating certain opinions ; for he was perfectly at liberty to
change his opinion on any subject whenever he pleased, or when
his conviction induced him to do so. He considered the sub-
ject of the corn laws one of the greatest interest to the coun-
try, one in which all classes had an equal interest ; and if he
apprehended that *a total repeal of them was necessary to im-
prove the condition of the working classes, with all his heart
he would vote for it. With regard to the corn laws them-
selves, he believed that the standard of duty might be lowered,
and that foreign corn might be imported duty-free, when
corn was at a lower price under the existing laws. He would
give his reasons why he would not vote for a repeal of them
at present, and also his reasons for thinking the present corn
laws better than any others yet proposed. Since the enact-
ment of the present laws in the year 1828, the average price
of corn in this country had been considerably lower than it
was during the existence of the previous laws. (A voice—
" How much lower? ") Why, it had been as low as 565.,
while formerly it was upwards of 605., notwithstanding the
bad harvests of the last two years. Another reason was, that
the imports and exports of this country had gradually in-
creased under the present laws. (Hear, hear.) In the
year 1829, the first year after their enactment, our ex-
ports amounted to £20,000,000. Now he should not go
through the whole number of years up to 1839, but content
himself with saying that our exports had increased gradually
till they amounted to £43,000,000., and what was not a little
surprising was, that the greatest increase inthe export of our
manufactures had taken place in those years when corn had
risen in price. In the year 1835 the exports of the country
amounted to nearly £27,000,000., corn was then 395. per
quarter ; and in 1836, when corn was 495. per quarter, our
exports were £32,000,000. ; in the year 1838, when corn was
more than 645. per quarter, our exports were £36,000,000.;
and in the year 1839, when corn was higher than it had
been for many years owing to bad harvests, when it was 70s.
per quarter, our exports reached £43,000,000. He knew
he should e told that although our exports had increased,
profits had diminished ; but that was beyond control, owing
to the competition, not only of manufacturers here but of ma-
nufacturers abroad. (Much uproar, in which several of the
Smith party said that the competition had been caused by the

corn laws.) Another reason why he advocated the system of
the present corn laws was, beccuse they were enacted by the
greatest advocate for free trade that this country ever pos-
sessed as a minister, namely, by the late lamented Mr. Hus-
kisson. (Hear, hear.) He carried his free trade principles
very far—some gentlemen supposed he carried them too far
—but he would not bring them to bear upon the corn laws.
And what did Van Buren, as President of the Republic of
the United States, say? He considered it the most
foolish thing possible to be dependent upon foreigners
for the first necessaries of life. They (the electors) must
recollect, that they were not discussing the question of a
modification of the corn-laws, but that the question between
him and Mr. Smith was, the standard or the principle of the
present corn-laws. The first and most distinct objection which
he had to their repeal, was the gross injustice of it.
The manufacturing interests of the country were protected,
and why should the landlords only be deprived of pro-
tection ? Were they (the electors) prepared for free trade
in every thing? (Hear, hear.) Were they prepared to be
undersold in their own markets by the foreigner? The advo-
cate of free trade in corn, and many of those gentlemen who
were called the cotton-lords of Manchester complained that
they were undersold; the Sheffield manufacturers also com-
plained of being undersold, although the foreigner paid a pro-
tecting duty of 20 per cent. Now, he would ask the electors
were they prepared with their heavy taxation to enter into
such a competition? Unless they were, they must not talk
of free trade. (Hear, hear). Another reason why he was
opposed to a total repeal of the corn laws was, because
he believed it would lower the wages of the working
classes. (Cheers). God forbid they should be lower
than they were !—(renewed cheers)—but it was his firm
belief that the repeal of the corn-laws would produce that
effect. If the farmer received only half the price of his
produce, although he paid no rent whatever, he could not
expend the same amount in manufactures which he did be-
fore. In all other countries of Europe, the price of corn was
one-half or two-thirds less than it was in this country, yet
the rate of wages was much lower. (No.) Well, he would
refer for his proof to statements which had been published
by an authority. (Hear.) He had taken them from the work
of a gentleman who, he believed, was a great authority with
the advocates of repeal—namely, Mr. James Wilson (we
believe). The hon. gentleman then read an extract of some
length from this writer, in which he entered into a compa-
rison between the general condition of the labourers in this
country and those on the Continent, and shewed that the
worst classes here were in a better condition than the best
in those lands of supposed abundance. He then asked if
that was an argument for a repeal of the corn-laws, and whe-
ther the real question was not one of wages. As to the
amount of wages, he would refer again to the same writer.
In France Mr. Wilson said the wages of an operative for a
week of 72 hours, (or 10 hours a day) averaged 5s 6d a week :
in Sweden 4s 2d : in Austria 4s, and in another country, the
name of which we could not catch, 3s 4d : whilst the average
in England for less than 12 hours a day of absolute work was
12s a week.—(A voice, " That 's a lie.")—This statement
showed that under the existing corn laws, the rate of wages
here was more than double than in any country on the conti-
nent. (Hear.) Another and more powerful reason why he
objected to a total repeal of the corn laws was, because he
would never make the 'supply of food for the inhabitants of
this country dependent upon the will of any foreign power.
What were we to do in years of scarcity and years of war ?
(Hear, hear.) It was generally admitted that a total repeal
of the corn laws would throw very large tracts of land in this
country out of cultivation, and that we must be dependent
upon foreigners for a large portion of our supplies. In
years of scarcity, or in years of war, where must we get that
supply? (Hear, hear.) We must starve. (Hear, hear.)
The vengeance of the people of England would then be di-
rected against the advocates of a measure which they had
found to operate so horribly upon them. (Hear, hear.)
Other countries found it their interest to encourage
manufactures and our free trade governments had taken
care to send them plenty of machinery ; therefore they
competed with us. Now, if the corn laws were repealed
to-morrow they would not take any more of our manufac-
tures; they would take our gold and silver; therefore he was
not prepared to sacrifice the home trade merely for the chance
of increasing the foreign. iHear, hear.) He claimed for
himself, and those gentlemen who supported him, the same
honest desire to promote the good of the country as- his
opponents. He was willing to concede to Mr. Smith, that
his only and sole object was the good of the country; and
he claimed the same concession himself. He believed that
his friends were as benevolent as any gentlemen on the other
side, and he was convinced that the parties who supported
him, were as much iuterested in the welfare of the operative
classes, as those who contended that the total repeal of the
corn laws would be for the benefit of the inhabitants of 'Wal-
sall. He thanked them for the kindness with which he had
ben received since his entrance into the town. He had
not received an uncivil word from any elector. In spite
of all the means used to excite the passions of the non-
electors, he was happy to say they had had but
little effect, possibly more upon the younger classes than
upon those who were better able to decide on his merits.
They had already been told that at the time when the reform
bill was brought forward, it was pronounced a panacea for all
sorts of evils. Had it proved a remedy for them? No ; and
now another sovereign remedy was proposed for them in the
total repeal of the corn laws. After a few remarks laudatory
of the mayor for his impartiality, the honourable gentleman
said that if he should have the honour of being returned, his
most strenuous endeavours should be used to promote what-
ever he considered under the advice of those best able to advise
him, best calculated for the interests of Walsall in particular,
and generally for the good of the whole community. The
honouruble gentleman then retired, amidst mingled cheers
and groans.
Mr. J. B. SMITH then addressed the meeting at very
great length, but although we have very copious notes of his
address, we are compelled, in order to save the post, to omit
them. The speech of the honourable gentleman was very
effective, and he was listened to with much attention. He
entered on the entire question of the corn law repeal, and de-
monstrated, apparently vebry much to the satisfaction of
himself and friends, that the salvation of the country depend-
ed upon their total repeal. _

The Mayor then called for a show of hands. For Mr.
Gladstone very few were exhibited ; for Mr. Smith there
was a majority, as might be expected. The Mayor having
declared the show of hands to be in favour of Mr. Smith,
a poll was demanded on behalf of Mr. Gladstone, and
granted. Thanks having been voted to the Mayor, the meet-
ing separated. The polling commences this day at eight
o'clock, and will terminate at four.

There are 800 electors on the register for this year. From
this number there may be deducted from 40 to 50 who from
various causes will be disfranchised. Many who have the
right will not vote at all it is supposed. It is not at all un-
likely that Mr. Gladstone will poll 350. If he should his
election is secure—of this we do not entertain the shadow of
a doubt.

The Dublin Evening Mail asserts that there is at this time
an available conservative majority in Dublin of 883, giving
credit for every vote in existence. The calculation, it is said,
rests upon data that cannot be questioned.

ESCAPE OF A DEBTOR FROM MONMOUTH JAIL.—On
Tuesday night last, about eight o'clock, a debtor named

Joseph Roberts, the younger,"managed to effect his escape
from Monmouth Jail. It is supposed that some friend out-
side threw a rope ladder over the wall on the side of the
prison, by means of which he got off. A reward of £5 is

offered for for Roberts's apprehension. Our readers will re-
member that at the last Insolvent Court held in Monmouth

he applied to the Court to have his hearing postponed, which
application was granted.—Monmouthshire Beacon.
A SERIOUS MISTAKE.—A very singular mistake, that
might have been attended with total rum to one of the first
banking establishments in London, occurred the same day

that Messrs. Wright, bankers, stopped payment. In the
course of that day a clerk of a firm of extensive business had,
amongst others, a check upon Wrights', as also upon the

house in question

By an unfortunate carelessness the clerk

presented the check Upon Wrights, to the cashier of the
bank, who, supposing it was offered to be paid into the credit
of the firm alluded to, in the usual short way of bankers'
clerks, observed, " The house has stopped payment." The
clerk, not aware that he had presented the wrong check,