The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1833-04-05 00:00:00

THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

WE were only enabled in a second edition of our last
number to give the-decision of the committee on the Li-
verpool election, and therefore we are bound to. repub-
lish it in this. It is in these words i

"Resolved,—That cases of bribery and corruption have been
proved at the late election for Liverpool, but that such cases do
not appear to have been with the authority of the candidat's,
or to have been pursued systematically :or extensively."
This is a curious scrap in its way, and worthy of being
preserved. Some cases of "bribery and corruption have
been proved at the late election for LiVerpool," says the
resolution, but we are not informed who were the bribers
and who the bribees. The committee are pleased to
maintain a most remarkable silence on this point. They
do not condescend to inform the house, or the public,
Whether ten thousand pounds, or only ten shillings, or
ten gallons of ale were expended in the shape of bribes.
They let the petitioners out of the difficulty as gently as
possible. "Go about your business you costermonger
politicians," say they, "you know no more about your
own case than 'you do about the longitude, you have been
imposed upon by silly boys and gossiping women, but
you have been sufficiently punished by exposure,—by
being gibbetted in the Standard, and caricatured in the
print-shops—without being further coerced by being sent
to the House of Correction."

All this it has pleased the sage " thirteen" to say and
do, but they have.neither said nor done enough for the
justice of the case. The charge was made against the
burgesses of Liverpool. An attempt was made by an
angry, venomous, and" disappointed faction—by a junta
of aspiring Quakers and dogmatical Unitarians—by a
coterie composed of the undigested fragments of extreme
sects both in religion and in politics,—to deprive L-in
fact to rob the poorer burgesses of Liverpool of their po-
litical privileges. The attempt, it is true, has signally
failed. No charge whatever has been substantiated
against the burgesses ; but are the•accusers, now proved
to be false accusers, to be allowed to escape, without their
motives being
.exposed, or their insidious designs held
up to public reprobation ? This must not be. They had
the temerity to slander a large portion of their fellow-
townsmen, men' whose poverty is certainly not a crime,
and who are in everY other respect as ,reputable as Mr.
Thornely, or the triumvirate of the GOOSE AND BOAR,
Messrs." Wm. Rathbone, Harvey, and Wyberg. •
But let us dive a little deeper into the pomp and cir-
cumstance of their false accusation. Mr. Benett, when
he presented their petition to the House of Commons on
the 21st of February, was instructed to say " he was fully
prepared to prove, BEYOND ALL DOUBT OR SUSPICION,
that on the recent election three thousand freemen had
been bribed with money!"

In the petition which Rathbone and Co. presented,
they state what follows :

"That your petitioners looked forward• to the passing of the
Reform Bill, for the recognition 'of popular rights, and the
extension of constitutional freedom; and for the termination of
a system of exclusion as regarded themselves, and of DE.GRAD=
INC; CORRUPTION, as regarded the old Burgesses. That the ex-
perience of the late election of members for the borough has
grievously disappointed tlise just and reasonable expectations.
'Chat the new electors, a large and respectable body of men,
have exercised •their franchise in an upright and independent
manner ; but their voice has been rendered powerless, and
their efforts of no avail, by the votes of the old Burgesses ;
very many of whom were supported to the hustings in a state of
complete intoxication, whilst others acted under the DIRECT
TEMPTATION OF BRIBERY, or of some equally corrupt influence.

" Under these circumstances your petitioners earnestly im-
plore your honourable house that the benefits Of the full mea-
sure of reform, may be conferred on Liverpool : that this great
commercial town may enjoy equal political rights with Man-
chester, Birmingham, or Leeds : and that the patriotic inten-
tions of the legislature may not be counteracted by an oppOs-
ing unconstitutional power. Your petitioners implore your
honourable house to DISFRANCHISE the ancient Burgeasesi; and
in so doing, they would remind the legislature that so many of
the old freemen as possess the approved legal qualification,
will become electors under the new law; and for the rest, your
petitioners pray for their disfranchisement, not as a punish-
ment for political misdeeds, but because long experience, and
the common sense of the community, proclaim that they are a body
of men INCAPABLE OF EXERCISING THE ELECTIVE FRANCHISE
INDEPENDENTLY, AND FOR THE GOOD OF THEIR COUNTRY."

For insolence and audacity these extracts from the pe
tition of Messrs. Rathbone, Harvey, Wybeig, and
Thornely, exceed any other piece of impertinence we
have met with even in modern times. The statement of
Mr. Benett is simply a falsehood, for which of course he
is not responsible, it being put into his mouth by his
prompters, but of which the honourable member must
now be heartily ashamed. As to the petition itself it is
not only .wickedly and deliberately false, but it is based
upon tyranny, cruelty, and injustice. Men who would
punish the many for the offences of the few, would hang
the innocent merely that the guilty should not escape,
thus reversing every. maxim of divine inspiration, and
every precept of mercy, charity, and morality. And the
men who teach these doctrines, and recommend these
despotical measures, are purists, liberals, and reformers !
They alone are the elect—they alone the spotless—they
alone the sober—they alone the incorruptible ! They
would assassinate young liberty upon the altar of mo-
dern Paganism solely to avenge the indignity of defeat ;
and they would spoliate their poorer brethren rather
than see their favourite Candidate checked in his ambitious
career. How petty and contemptible is such rancour as
this I There is not a shoe-black, or a cobbler in all Eng-
land, who would not be ashamed of such conduct.
" Three thousand freemen," says Mr. Benett, echoing
the words of his instructors, "were bribed with money."
The bribery is notorious—the burgesses are all drunk-
ards—many of whom were carried to the hustings in a
state of complete intoxication—say the petitioners. These
are the allegations against the freemen. Now, what have
the petitions proved Y Is it established by the evidence
that any one man gave his vote on the days of election
who was less sober than Mr. W. Rathbone himself? Is a
man to be disfranchised because, at a period of bustle and
excitement, he happens to get drunk ? It would be quite
as liberal to send a man to the tread-mill for smoking
tobacco, and another 'to the hulks who dares appear in
the streets with his coat out at the elbows. But what
have they proved ? This they are wise enough to keep
to themselves ; hilt we thay safely assume that they have

not been enabled to bring home
three or four individuals, and tha,
which palliate the -offence. Fou
thousand voters, alleged to be
paucity on which tolound a charge
munity. It is a great cry and n 0
them to the proof that sixteen
hands for the purpose of bribery,
twelve honest men would receive
We give them all the advantage 0
Abercromby, and Mrs. Elizabeth
they add to that, all that they hai
sources—in the dark alleys—in t
unknown places where the God,
holds her mysterous solemnities—
together all that is true, and all t
that is false, we defy them to su
bribery at the last election to the
crowns of the lawful money of the

And for this extensive corruptio:
ers, who desire to enlighten Live
of Manchester and Leeds, and wh
dom would circumscribe the right
they would disfranchise three thoi
we are sick of the business, and re,
men walk on the same streets v
machinations have for the present
ambition has received a curb. TL
have any compunctious visitings, o
"pull their hats over their brow
show their faces in the fi
have,. had a Committee of their o'
even that Committee

"Commends the ingredients of th,
To their own lips." -

We have nearly done with them
sant conviction that we have don,
pride that all our predictions has!
leave the result to- the calumniated,
cated freemen of Liverpool.
THE Dvblin Evening Mail of
a long report of the trial of Priest
quitted under the following verdict
VERDICT.—" We find the traverser .
Sider the writingand publishing of the
speech at Sallins, acts of gross indiscr

On this our contemporary obsery
ousness

"This finding reminds us of a trig.
period of our life, occurred upon th,
fellow of notoriously profligate chat
heater for woodcocks and a starter
sportsmen of an extensive district, w
life, on a charge of a most brutal assau:
circumstances of considerable aggravati
proved, and the detail excited the disgtm
tion of the auditory. His. Lordship the,
which was composed of half Sirs—he
believed the evidence, and there was 7
for shaking the veracity of
.the wi
was corroborated by some concurrent
could exist in their minds as to the pri;
tlemen retired, and, after some conside
virdict, which pronounced the prison,
very great indecency!' and no inducem,
tion could prevail upon them to alter t:
"The Kildare Jury have pronounce,
been `guilty—of a great indiscretion'—a
our information be not incorrect, some
viously fallen, by convening and atten,
that for which their Reverend Pasto,
secuted."

' WEST-CUMBERLAND' ELECTION.-0
called to the charges of bribery and cor
in the gall and bitterness of their in,
against the triumphant party. Not
utterly false; but it is a fact, we are
make them are themselves the party to
necessary, we shall recur to this sub,
only adu the following extract of a le
one who has the best means of knowin
"I can assure you, that thecharges
—mere fudge ; and far more than this
had the Major been returned, such
would have unseated him. In the way
duct of the Blues has been perfectly i,
triot.

1,) v LrLv I.ik's £ T

Icednesday Evening, Ii

The change in the administration, p.
great satisfaction to all connected with I
a perfect knowledge that it is inapossib.
be such bunglers, as the recent official
'limit, and partly from an idea that the
forerunner of a complete exeunt of
Under this impression, Consols have b.
the last two days, and the quotation for
afternoon at S 8 sellers, the price for
Exchequer Bills have beep on the advai
Mari-ling affected at 50 to 51 premium.
The advices from Manilla, as respect
discouraging, especially for British pied
had risen to 42 Spanish dollars per pier
of American vessels had arriveu there
way to China. An earthquake had occi
that any damage had been done.
We learn by late accounts from Mali
loos had been appointed over the differel
Constituted the district under the contra
ning. He himself was said to be at n,
was generally thought that he would on,
against the English forces, in order rep,
mer power and dominions.
W e have accounts from Siam, by w
give the particulars of the proceedings
ment towards the States of Calantou ai
Coast. It appears the Siamese did not
they had compelled the Malays to pay
slaves. A vessel had recently arrived a,
with 33,000 dollars, and 10 catties of ga!
at Bankok, the price being 112 ticels
were actually in a state of starvation au,
but the new crop was expected to be p
dation occur before it.was cut. A great
Malay district.at Bankok, by which u'
houses had been destroyed, and the smai
great extent and carried off many child
We have been without any foreign
to-day.
TO C..3II.ELESPOND.
The letter of Mr. WEBBE is an advertis'
J. P. is too explicit in his personalities.
Several letters which we have receive,

lady of political notoriety, at the pre

LIVERPOOL ;—Printed on Tuesdays and Fri.
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