The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-05-28 00:00:00

May 2s, 1844

SOUTH LANCASHIRE ELECTION.

e_The nomination of candidates took place On Friday at
Newtonin-the-Willows. The weather was extremely
favourable for the occasion, the day being fair and warm.
Hustings were erected on the vacant ground in front of
the church, but they were extremely small and incom-
patetresnodnasn.
attendance, ,
not capable. of holding more than 150 to 200
For the reporters. of whom about 25 were in
no sort of accommodation was provided, and
they were compelled to engage a couple of waggons, and
have them wheeled op in front of the hustings.
Ten o'clock was the hour fixed for the commencement
ged. the Proceedings, but abou an hour before that time the
little town began to be very busy, carriages and other
vehicles continuing to drive up in quick succession until
after ten o'clock.
John Powden Hindle, Esq., of Wood-fold Park, near
tjackburn, the high-sheriff, arrived from Warrington, at
about a quarter before ten o'clock. He was accompanied
by Will arn Whalley, Esq., of Parkhill, and was attended
1:1:othe hustings hy Robert Brandt, Esq., the assessor, and
Walker, ot Preston the under-sheriff.
"ul• Entvvisle, Esq., the Conservative candidate,
arrived from Liverpool, accompanied by several members
J the Liverpool co nmittee, at about half-past nine o'clock.
They proceeded to the Central Committee Rooms, at
vne Legh Arms Hotel, where the procession formed, and
moved up to the hustings. It comprised a vast number
Of persons, and a profusion of elegant banners, bearing
appropriatei Conservative inscriptions.
i
Mr. Brown arrived in his carriage, comparatively un-
attended; amongst his small party were Sir Thos. Potter,
J• C. Ewart, Esq , W. Wood, Esq., John Finch, jun. Esq.,
Robert Gardner, Esq., Henry Harrop, Esq., R. Cobden,
M-P and of the most prominent agitators of
the Leaoue.' some
The hustings were divided into three compartments ;
thet_
the
rightntwisle
centre ceie was occupied by the High Sheriff, that on
Entwisle
Mr. Brown, and the one on the left by Mr.
On taking his place on the hustings, Mr.
was loudly cheered.
Amongst the very numerous party by whom he was
.riiallorted on the hustings were—J. Wilson Patten, Esq.,
I.i_r eenal I
o John Ireland Blackburne, Esq., m•f., Peter
..
P CO Esq., si.P., George Cornwall Leigh, Esq.,
Thos Plumbe Tempest, Sir Thomas Braucher,
HJohu tin'•oßEownsend, Esq , Robert Bentley, Esq., Wm. Gar-
nettnesn,lti.ey3,ooqh.,Harrop, Esq., Clement Royds, Esq.,
Henry Littledale, Esq., Wm. Ford
,
Estlss William Smith, Esq , the Rev. James
Ho
ruby of Winwick, John Roby, Esq., James Dear-
de
rs
bens' ,EN, William Hall, Esq., of Grappen-hall, Al-
noyds, Esq., Gilbert Greenall, Esq John Greenall,
Thomas Lyon, Esquire, Henry 'Charles Lacey,
E'srlo Edward Lloyd, Esq., H. H. Birley, Esq.,
John Darwell, Esq.. John Smith, Esq., Robert Lomax,
Eq., John Clare, Esq., It. S. Sowler, Esq., Elias Chad-
wick, E,q., John Lord, Esq., siec.
Precisely at ten minutes after ten proclamation for si-
lence was made, and Hobert Brandt, Esq., the sheriff's
assessor, proceeded to read the writ. At that time the
crowd in front of the hustings was very great, and every
window commanding a view of the place was crowded
with spectators.
The cath was administered to the high sheriff by W.
Hall, Esq., of Grappenhall.
The HIGH SHERIFF then said—Freeholders of the
'Southern Division of the County. In pursuance of his
duty as High Sheriff of the county, he had called them
together for the purpose of electing a fit and proper per-
son to represent them in the Common's House of Parlia-
ment, in the room of their late much lamented represen-
tative, the Hon. R. Bootle Wilbraham, a gentleman, of
whose death he might say it was a cause for the deepest
grief to his friends and relatives, and an irreparable loss
to the county that claimed the high distinction of having
bad him as one of its representatives, for he was a man of
whom any constituency might indeed feel proud ; his
Idaeragteh;a d tnherefore, was a matter of grief to the county at
- especial!y to that division which he so ably re-
presented.
Their duty now, however, was not to enlarge
on the merits of their late member, but to select a gentle-
man worthy to become his successor, and in the perform •
Pee of that duty he would not interfere further than what
he was required to do in the performance of his public du-
ties. He rejoiced to believe that hitherto the matters
-Connected with the election had gone on in a quiet and
peaceable manner •, that no bad feeling had been evinced.
1:1111 own duty, as they were aware, was to act in a straight
forward
hatrdemanner ; to make a return to the writ, and de-
gentleman elected who had the majority of votes.
He could assure alt who heard him, that it was his fixed
determination to act with strict impartiality—(loud
cheers) '•—to endeavour to obtain for all a fair hearing—
{cheers)—and he trusted when the election should have
been concluded, that neither party should have cause for
Ting it was lost by any action of his. (Loud cheers.)
would not further detain the freeholders from hearing
any gentleman who might desire to propose a candidate.
13rj- "AitoNß, Es. rose to propose his friend William
yin' EN , E
as a fit and proper person to become a re-
rrerisi
senntative.for the Southern Division of the county. And
n
g to discharge that duty he could not but feel sin-
cere regret that the duty had not fallen into abler hands,
for he did indeed feel his own great insufficiency to place
the rn...0.
8 of his friend in that strong point of view before
the electors to which they were so eminently entitled. He
bad also another cause of regret, namely, that he felt he
was about to vote and act against those friends with whom
°,.9 had been so long connected, and in whose political
Mews he had agreed. He felt, however, that he was about
hi? interestennntr
rala" honestly•• that he was about best to serve the gene-
ral
his' country, and he would much rather see
prosper than endeavour to promote the predo-
minancy of any particular political creed. Their country,
then, y
u. was formerly an agricultural one, but it was now a
Commercial one, and being so, it required that its repre-
sentatives should be men well versed in all subjects rela-
ting to commercial affairs. The Southern Division of the
county comprised an area of 444,000 acres, and was rated
on a value of £5,000,000. The Northern Division Cam-
prised an area of 721,000 acres, and included Preston,
Blackburn, and other towns, but only contained a popu-
lation of 200,000, and was rated at an annual value infi-
nitely below that of the Southern Division. (Loud cries
of " Question.") Mr. G. then went on to show a num-
ber of well-known facts respecting the density of the po-
pulation of Lancashire, above every other in the kingdom,
and as this great addition had been created by the spread
of manufactures within it, it followed that its representa-
tives should be thoroughly versed in commercial affairs, a
requirement which they could not expect to find in Mr.
Entwisle, but which existed in the greatest perfection in
his friend Mr. Brown. He then said a charge had been
brought forward against Mr. Brown that he was a Soci-
nian and an enemy to the church (No, no), but he denied
that such was the case, and he would say further, that if
he could have believed such a charge well founded, he
would not have advocated his cause. He (Mr. G.) might
say for himself that very fe,y men had contributed more
ttlilaenrehfo erehad done to extend the church's usefulness; it was
not to be expected that he would give his as-
sistance to any man who would endeavour to injure the
Bross. Another charge had been brought against Mr.
n—that he was an American, a foreigner; now the
truth Was he was an Irishman; but it was not very im-
Portant to state the fact; it was, however, to say of him
that be had proved himself at all times, and in every re-
spect, a most consistent man. And it was of the last im-
portance to select such a man for their member; one who
Would remove all restrictions from trade, and leave it per-
eat), free.
This country could never have risen to its
Preseets proud pre-eminence without the aid of commerce,
and if now deprived of that, he would wish to ask what
Would it soon become ? and yet, although the certainty of
decay
merkees.vas an almost self-evident truth, the landed interest
'were disposed to feel and act hostilely towards corn-
Let them, however, remember that labour and
racuinerV could be removed, were removing, to other
ands, where they might be more profitably employed ;
but there was no removing green fields. There was ano-
ther charge alleged against his friend, that if he were re-
turned to parliament, be would go pledged to oppose the
present government; but he believed on the contrary, he
would be able to give the government much better sup-
Ann than his opponent, especially on all commercial ques-
tions. The country wanted members who would support
free trade; let him not, however, be misunderstood; he
did not wish to see restrictions removed suddenly, and at
once, but gradually and by degrees ; he was not, there-
fore, a thorough free-trader ; for although he deemed the
former and the present corn law unjust, he would not have
the restrictions which it imposes removed at once but gra-
dually, (oh, oh !) for sudden changes often do evil, and
seldom do much good. (Cheers.) But if he might judge'
of Mr. Entwisle from the answers he had given to ques.
tions put to him he could only regard him
old school—one who would oppose the removalaaa r7y of the
restric-
tions on the coin trade, and commercial restrictionsP
gene-
rally. Having made some statements in answer to the
low charge that low priced bread would occasion wages,
(which were most tame and shallow) he came to the pre-
sent situation of the Chinese in having thrown open their
ports to the markets of England and the Colonies, and
that too without imposing any import duties, if they might
have been met in a reciprocal spirit of liberality. At the
present time there was a great demand for grey shirting
cloths in China, the duty on which was 71d. a piece, and
one piece would purchase 121bs. of tea, on which we put
a tax of 2s. 2d. per lb., or on the 121bs. of tea paid for by
One piece of cloth, no less than 265. 3d. The article next
greatest in demand in China, is yarn, the duty on which
la 9 llths of a penny per pound. Now 12lbs. of yarn will
procure, on an average, 151bs. of tea, and the Chinese
duty on the yarn would be 7d. and *th of a penny, while
theatruld impose on the 121bs. of tea, 265. 3d, duty. And
our manufactures
would engage to take as great a quantity of
.manufactures as they are able to pay for in their own
oronece ,„.
Tea w 8. (try—let them take bricks and mortar and all.)
meat a sold in London at 6d. per lb., on which govern-
Chinese fair h,
Mit a duty
w of 2s. 2d.; if the government
now sold
at Qs. a lb. Now the County of Lancaster might be called
c great emporium of trade, and it required representa-
na well versed in trade interests, rightly to watch over
Zrt,Promote its welfare ; but if they put the capabilities
it the two candidates in comparison to do this, he thought
the Id be comparing the sun with a candle. (Cries from
AsConservatives, We've all the sun at our side.")
sir getailing a plentiful supply of sympathetic expres-
n'av
eke
In the sufferings of the poor; and alluding to the
ii
Of his
to Sir Robert Peel's policy ; be again spoke
tion:s disinclination to a sudden withdrawal of restric-
duly" and confessed his preference of a fixed moderate
by ; °Il
th corn, of 65., 75., or Bs. a quarter. He concluded
reft
ing he believed there were many gentlemen on the
and who would say •1 amen" to much that he had said, then
begged to propose his friend William Brown,
of Liverpool, as a representative for the Southern
Division. (Loud cheers.)
JOSEPH EWART, Esq., rose to second the nomination,
andto before proceeding with general observations, he begged
concur in all the eulogicm.expressed by the High She-
-4111 upon the late Mr. Bootle Wilbraham, a gentleman
f"unws .ren he recollected as an old tried friend and school-
and who had proved himself invaluable as a mem-