The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-11-02 00:00:00

ST. PETER'S WARD

Who says St. Peter's \V .d is not conservative ? who calls
it the Gibraltar of the rads ? and wbo says that there are not
true-hearted, loyal, honest, brave, and persevering English-
men, who devotedly love their church, queen, and constitu-
tion, in it? . .

" I thank thee, Jew, for teaching me that word,"
exclaims Gratiano when Shylock finds the tables turned
against him ; and so we thank thee, Mr. Radical Bright, for
teaching us that word " GIBRALTAR." GIBRALTAR!
Would we could scream it upon paper, and let it ring in the
mortified ears of every viprous radical, from Mr. Wooll-
right in 80ld-street, down to the sweep in some back slum
and dark alley in School-lane. GIBRALTAR ! An Elliot
—not he of China--is Mr. Rae's chairman. and good gene-
rals are his committee, and brave men are his voters—honour
be to them; they have achieved a victory, and all the so-

phistry in the world cannot make it otherwise. The Rads
are not DEFEATED, they are CONCLUERICD! and we shall
bear no more of them from this time henceforward. The
polling was animated throughout the day. Towards the
close, Mr. \%oollright's supporters saw that the game was
up, and " despair stood upon their sweating brows," gleams
of hope darting in only as some solitary burgess came to add
his mite ! At the close of the poll the numbers were tri-
umphantly delivered thus :

Mr. Rae
Mr. Wool!right

Majority for Mr. Rae,

A car, containing two voters for Mr. Woollright, came
up the instant the poll had closed, to their evident chagrin
and the laughter of the crowd, who, just at the moment,
were enthusiastically greeting the returns.
Mr. RAE retired to his committee-room, where he ad-
dressed the voters, his committee, and friends as follows :

Gentlemen,—How have the mighty fallen ! How have
their boastings ended in smoke! The battle has been fought,
and the battle has been won ; the honour be yours—yours
the glory of the victory. (Cheers.) Not only have you
taken Gibraltar—(loud laughter)—but you have blown it up,
—(continued cheers and laughter)—and placed in it I hope a
good conservative soldier, who will fight for you the battle of
the constitution. It is with no little feeling of pride that I
find myself the first conservative member iu St. Peter's
Ward since the passing of the Municipal Reform Bill, and I
hope the time is not far distant when we shall have three
conservatives. (We will, we will, and cheers.) I beg to re-
turn thanks to the gentlemen of my committee for their zeal
and industry in my behalf, and for their good management.
I promise you and them I will do all I can for the benefit of
the town, and this ward in particular. I thank you sincerely
and wish you good day. Mr. Rae then read the returns,
which were greeted with immense applause and enthusiasm.
Now let us look at the result of the last two elections, and
see what a change has come over the opinion of the ward.
In 1837, we find out of 621 voters, 192 voters for the radi-
cal and 168 for the conservative; 1838, we find out of 607
voters, 137 voting for_the conservative and 202 for the radical ;

in 1839, we disco-ver Mr. Gibraltar Bright walking over the
course, Mr. Roskell being disqualified by being an assessor.
Then comes 1840—out of 294 votes, Mr. Rae polling 137
and Mr. Priestley 157, leaving Mr. Rae in a minority of 20.
Now comes the crowning of St. Peter's Ward, and behold the
change this year; as we have stated previously, the majority
being in favour of Mr. Rae 26 ! over Mr. Woollright. Has
Mr. Rae changed? No. Has Mr. Woollright lost the es-

teem of his neighbours ? No—but radicali;in has—and if
we may throw up our caps and shout, it is for the Gibraltar
victory in St. Peter's ward. In conclusion we give the con-
tents of a scrap we picked up oil our way home :--

GIBRALTAR WARD.
What ! have we won St. Peter's ward,
The strongest hold of all?
And scattered wide the boasting rads
Like chaff before a squall?—
What ! Peter's won ! and Woolright cast
Like lumber overboard ?
For ever shall its name remain—
As GIBRALTAR WARD !

PITT-STREET WARD,

be contest in this ward, from the popularity of both the

candidates, Mr. James Aspinall and. Mr. Hugh Hornby,
was, as might be expected, very close and severe. It might,
indeed, with far more truth, have been termed the Gibraltar

of the reform cause, notwithstanding the brightness of the
intellect which suggested the comparison as to St. Peter's.
It is worthy of remark, that in this ward, spite of the various
radical influences which prevail within its boundaries, that
conservatism has steadily progressed in it from the com-
mencement of the municipal act, till it has attained a position
at once enviable, notorious, and triumphant. To prove this,

it is only necessary to give a statement of the numbers since
1837. In that year there polled for the conservatives 208,
and for the radicals 229; in 1838, for the conservatives 166,
and for the radicals 210 ; in 1839, for the conservatives 189.

and for the radicals 192 ; in 1840, for the conservatives 189,
and for the radicals 188. We are happy in the overthrow of
William Rathbone, whose third defeat we have noticed in
our report of the proceedings in Great George's ward. In
the present instance the majority of Mr. Aspinall over Mr.
Hornby is 42, shewing a victory which, considering all cir-
cumstances, is one of the most important in the whole elec-
tion

To those who know Mr. liornby's character, it will
e unnecessary to state that great efforts were made to secure
his re-election, A man of his standing and talent necessarily
commanded them ; nevertheless, all was in vain. Mr. Aspi-
nall, the unwavering and staunch representative of conserva-
tive principle, was decidedly the favourite from the begin-
ning, and in the end he was victorious. At the close of the
poll Mr. Aspinall addressed a few words to the people, con-
gratulatory of the success of their efforts.