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    320 ^L^^ ^ E Agjjjg^_ _____ _ [g<>-ggVS^...

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    The General Election. •. '¦¦ . . . •?—: ...

    fired at it / Now , did the American commander , like Sir Michael Seymour and Sir John Bowring , demand an apology , and insist that a similar thing should not occur again ? Not the least in the world . He inverted the usual course , which is said to be characteristic of energy —a word and a blow f lie put it thus : —A blow and a word . ( Cheers , and laughter . ) He began to knock down the fort , and then sent to the Commissioner to say that an insult bad been offered to his flag , and that he hoped for an apology ( cheers ) , and an assurance to the effect that it -would not happen again { cheers ); and he gave twenty-four hours for this apology and exp lanation to be sent to him-. But , before these twenty-four hours had expiredthe ship which was lying near the fort saw

    , something or other going on which the officers shrewdlyimagined was for renewed defence if not for renewed attack . Well , this American officer , without -waiting , and writing to the United States to know what to do—without waiting even for the twenty-four hours to expire —said , 'No , no , 3 Mr . Chinaman , this won't do ; you are throwing up fresh , batteries and putting in fresh guns ; ' and lie commenced the- demolition of the fort , and took possession of these guns before the time had expired which he had given the Chinese commissioner in order to make his apology and explanation . " ( Cheers . )

    He ( Lord Palmerston ) had told a noble friend of his , who was going to vote against Government in the House of Lords on account of a letter he ( the Premier ) had written in 1847 about Canton , not to heed -what he had written in that year . The case is now different "with respect to admission into that city . It appeared , on the authority of Sir John Bowring , that the Chinese of that city are not a cruel or insulting raca like the manda-rins , and are inclined to treat foreigners -with good will . The pretence , therefore , on the part of the Chinese authorities , that entrance into Canton would he attended with serious

    collisions between the natives and the English , was an obstacle artfully created , and its removal would be attended with commercial advantages to the merchants at Hong-Kong ; and Canton . " Well , that which Sir John Bowring told . Sir Michael Seymour to ask for was , not for permission to eater Canton , which I and my colleagues had desired the Superintendent and Plenipotentiary not to acquire ~\> y force of arms ; it was the right to have personal intercourse between our authorities at Canton and the authorities within the town—a freer communication , and not the right of the indiscriminate entrance of all British subjects . I say it / was a

    proper demand , properly made . " He then proceeded to vindicate the character of Sir John Bowring , observing that he is a man of the people , though we are now told that none but aristocratical scions get appointments ; and that he is conspicuously a man of peaceable temperament and tendencies . " When Lord Elgin ' s mission is finished , as I hope it will be in a twelvemonth or * little more , he will return and leave Sir John Bowring in exactly the same position in which he is now , trusted and confided in by the Engh ' sb Government . " His Lordship concluded , amidst loud applause , by anticipating with confidence the general upshot of the elections . OXFORD ( CITY . ) The nomination took place last Saturday , when , after ' some sparring between Mr . Cardwell and Mr . Neate , M . A ., fellow of Oriel College , in respect to the -vote in favour of Mr . Cobden ' s motion given by the former ennuidate , Mr . Serjeant Gaselee expressed liis approval of the conduct of the Government in connexion with the late division , and indicated his general political principles , which were -very liberal . " He was not prepared to vote for universal suffrage , but he was in favour of an extension of the borough franchise , and he saw no reason ¦ wh y they should not adopt the municipal franchise . ( Cheers . ) He would also extend the suffrage to lodgers under certain limited restrictions . He did not view the

    Corrupt Practices at Elections Bill with the same favour as Mr . Cardwell did , and he was in favour of triennial Parliaments . With regard to the abolition of churchrates , he agreed with Mr . Cardwell . He was a friend of civil and religious liberty ; he was in favour of the admission of Jews into Parliament , and for the extension of freedom to all religions , and whether as regarded the Churchman or Dissenter , he should always be found to vote in favour of the moral , religious , and social improvement of the people . " ( C / iecrs . ) After advocating lawreform and condemning the game laws , the learned Serjeant said that ho wished to go to Parliament as an independent member . —The ahow of hands was in favour of Mr . Langston and Mr . Neate , A poll was demanded for Mr . Cardwell and Mr . Serjeant Gaaelee . This tcr-? ° ^ V " ^ defeat , the numbers being—Langston , 1667 ; Jeato , 1057 ; CardwoU 1016 : Gasclee 225

    , , Mr . CardwoU , in making a speech at the nomination , said , with reference to the report that the Emperor of China has disapproved of the conduct of Conmnasionor Yeh : _ " Let me show you the light which that intelligence throws upon tho independent -vote -which 1 guvo in favour of Mr . Cobdeu ' n motion . Ono « f the most atringent objections I felt to tho policy pursued by our plenipotentiary in China was that lie had refused to permit any reference whatever to bo modo to tho Emperor of China . Now , gentlemen , if that reference had been made , tho news received this morninc plainly shows that nil tho bloodshed , all those ncta of

    poisoning , all the offering of rewards on the part of the Chinese , all the interruption to trade , and all the detriment to our revenue , would have been avoided . ( Cheers . ) I sav-that it affords me great consolation , whatever may be the result of this contest , to reflect that , acting according to the best of ray judgment , and for what in my view went for the good of the realm of England , I gave at least an honest and a conscientious vote on . that question . { Cheers . ) You desire economy . You have had for the last twenty years so great an enjoyment of the fruits of that beneficial policy that you desire with

    me that the same course should be steadily and speedily pursued , and you -would approve , therefore , of the vote which I gave upon the Budget for the remission of taxation , and the arguments which I ventured to address to the House in favour of reduced expenditure . Bat permit me to remind you tliat if our foreign , plenipotentiaries are to take into their own lands the Queen's prerogative of peace and war , and , without permitting time for reference to the higher authorities , are to embark in costly hostilities , it will not be in the power of your representatives to diminish those taxes which press so heavily upon you . " ( Cheers , and slight hissing . }

    OXFORD ( COUNTY ) . Mr . Henley , Mr . llarcourr , and Colonel North , were elected without opposition . They were then girt , according to ancient custom , " with , swords , as knights of the shire .

    RADNOR . The only candidate for the Radnor Boroughs was the Chancellor of ths Exchequer , - \ yho addressed a long speech to the electors , in -which , after referring to the speedy close of the Russian" war as a proof that Lord Palmerston is not desirous of keeping the country in a state of hostility , he alluded to Mr . Disraeli ' s election address , and undertook to disprove the assertion made therein , that the Government is characterized by " excessive expenditure and heavy taxation . " He observed : — " The only way to ascertain the facts of the

    case is to compare our present expenditure and taxation with what they were during the war . The estimates for the army and navy for all purposes of wax , which were presented at tlie beginning of last session ( 1856-57 ) , were 50 , 865 , 000 / . Those estimates were made upon the assumption that the war -would continue , but happily ye signed a peace about Easter . The Government lost no time in revising the war estimates , and in producing reduced estimates , adapted , as far as possible , to the new state of peace . It is scarcel y necessary that I should remind you that the enormous establishments created in a time of war cannot be removed

    by the stroke of a wand . "We must bring home our fleets and armies ; aud I need not enter into detail , because it must suggest itself to the ir . ind of every one that there are a great number of expensive operations attendant upon the transition from a war , which had created a foreign expedition on a . great scale , to a state of peace . The revised army and navy estimates amounted to 38 , 061 , 0 flu £ Well , that was at once a considerable reduction . Now , these were estimates for a year not actually of -war , but a year in which many of the expenses incident to the war had to be borne , and as compared -with the preceding year a saving of 17 , 000 , 0002 . was effected . ( Hear , hear . ) But then , you will say , what is your calculation for the year

    commencing the 1 st of next April ? Exclusive of the Coastguard and packets , which are not for military purposes , the estimates for the year 1857-8 have been reduced to 18 , 870 , 000 / . as compared with 38 , 000 , 000 / . in the preceding year . Now these are positive facts , about which no doubt can exist , because they rest on papers presented to Parliament . . I ask , therefore , whether it can be said that excessive expenditure has been the policy of tho present Government ? ( Hear , heai ' . ~ ) But then we are told that ' reduction of taxation' is the policy which Mr . Disraeli recommends , as contrasted with the policy of Lord Palmerston ' s Government , which one must presume is that of increased taxation . Well , now , what are the facts ?

    The income-tax—no small part of our resources—lias been reduced feom lCiU to 7 d . in the pound , and other reductions of taxation have taken place , partly in consequence of propositions of the Government , and partly by thTj operation of prospective provisions in statutes ; and for tho year 1857-58 , as compared with the j r oar 1855-5 G , there has been a reduction of nearly 11 , 500 , 000 / . " ( Cheers . ) Sir G . C . Lewis then reverted to the China affair . "The honourable gentleman who did mo tho honour of proposing me very clearly pointed out the peculiar position of our agents in China , separated by many thousands of miles and many weeks of postal communication from England —a few Englishmen surrounded by an enormous and , it may be , hostile people ; and lie has shown that under such circumstances it is

    not wise , it is not prudent , it is not fair , it is hardly decent , I may say , fur the Government to scrutinize vith a jealous and hostile criticism nil the acts of their subordinates , if they net with perfect good faith , and avIich there in no imputation upon their honesty , or upon their desire to servo their country . Now , our agents in Chirm have not been charged with rapacity , with nay desire to enrich themselves at the expense * of foreign countries , nor of scfiking to aggrandize their country by taking territory from foreigners . No , tho most that can be Baid

    ia that , from an excess of zeal , Sir John Bowring some yrhat eried in asserting the rights « f his country be " lieving that a treaty had been violated ; and I say ' that the Government which should be over-hasty and overdisposed to censure their subordinates would justly excite the disapprobation of the country . ( Cheers . ) I an ^ not called upon to maintain that " Sir John Bowring ' 3 conduct was faultless and immaculate ; it is not necessary for me to show that Ms judgment and that of Mr . Consul Perkes was the most perfect and the wisest that could have been exercised under the circumstances What the Government have to consider in such a case is " whethei their agents acted to the best of their jud gment and with a reasonable discretion . " He then drew

    attention to the fact of several of the Oppositionists having declared that they would not have voted against Government if Ministers had announced their intention of sending Lord Elgin out to arrange affairs . The difference , therefore , argued Sir George , is but slight , and no very sensible weight of censure can be attached to the Government for what they have done . He next referred to matters of home policy , and said , with reference to Mr . Locke King ' s bill : — " The law of voting cannot be simply transferred from boroughs to counties some adaptation is necessary ; and , subject to these

    restrictions , I am decidedly in . favour of Mr . Locke King ' s bill . In fact , the Government agreed to support the introduction of that bill , but afterwards found that , on account of some questions of form , rather than of substance , it could not be conveniently introduced ; and that was the reason , why they voted against its introduction . " After alluding to the question of church-rates , which impost he thought must be placed on a fairer and more reasonable footing , and having thanked the electors for the honour they had done him in again electing him , Sir George resumed his seat . .

    KIDDERMINSTER . The proceedings at the election for this "borough were marked by a most disgraceful riot in the interests of the unsuccessful candidate , Mr . Boycott . The Right Hon . Robert Lowe took the lead from the commencement of the day , and at the close of the poll the numbers were—Mr . Lowe , 234 ; Mr . Boycott , 146 ; majority in favour of Mr . Lowe , 88 . The polling booths were surrounded all day by a large number of non-electors , who mobbed the voters for Mr . Lowe as they came up , and kicked , cuffed , and spat on them . Shortly before the close of the poll , an attack was made on Mr ; Lowe and his friends by a mob which consisted of between three and four thousand persons , who , yelling and swearing horribly , and calling on Mr . Boycott to let them kill the

    obnoxious persons , threw stones and brickbats into the booth , apparently with a view of hitting Mr . Lowe ana his proposer , Mr . Pardoe . Several attempts were made to calm the populace ; but , these failing , the Mayor was requested , by several magistrates who were present , to read the Riot Act . He refused , however , fearing that it would exasperate the crowd still more , while there was uo force at hand sufficient to disperse the mob if they still continued their riotous proceedings . Mr .-Boycott requested the people to disperse quietly , but the attack every moment , became more and more serious , and Mr . Boycott and his friends retired , the mob cheering them as they passed . Several persons received severe cuts and bruises from the missiles of the ruffians , and it soon became evident that the booth would be

    burst in . Mr . Lowe and the Mayor , therefore , escaped out of it , and a rush was made through the crowd . The hustings were at the outskirts of the town , and the fugitives , escorted by a few constables , made the best of their way into the town itself , followed by the mob , hooting , yelling , and throwing stones and . brickbats as before . Mr . Lowe ' s friends at last got him into a house , which was immediately surrounded by the mob . The house , which is a school , conducted by the Rev . Mr . Sheppard , stands back from the road , and is protected by a liigh wall and iron gates . Mr . Sheppard , in admitting tho fugitives , was himself knocked d , own and hurt ; but the rioters were at length excluded . They then endeavoured to wrench the locks off the gates ; but in this they failed . However , they did not quit the place , but -prowled about , threatening that , when they had the opportunity , they would kill Mr . Lowe and Mr . Pardoe .

    Mr . Lowo had been soriously wounded by a blow from a stone , and ho was bleeding so profusely , felt bo weak , that it was found necessary to send for a surgeon . " Jhe mob , " says the Times , " allowed the medical man to pass through them into tho house , and directed him to inform his patient that they were determined to 'do for him' before ho left Kidderminster . Mr . Stretton , the surgeon , discovered that Mr . Lowe had sustained a fracture of tho right parietnl bone of tlie skull , in addition to a lacerated scalp wound and tvto aovcre contusulftrcd

    sions on the side of tho head . Mr . Pardoe hud contusions on the head and body . MY- Holmes received an incised wound on the Kcalp , from winch blood ( lowed freely . Before tho surgeon had attended to tho gentlemen , n police coiiBtablo was carried into the hou ^ o in a at ate of insensibility , covered with blood . The poor fellow had been struck nearly all over with BtonoH . One missile bad fractured two bones , of his nose in a frightful manner , and another had caused a largo lacerated wound of the ekull . It appears that part of the mob , on beinjr

    320 ^L^^ ^ E Agjjjg^_ _____ _ [G<>-Ggvs^...

    320 ^ L ^^ ^ Agjjjg ^_ _____ _ [ g <> -ggVS ^ TTODAY ,

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), April 4, 1857, page 8, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_04041857/page/8/