§ Dr. Bowringrose to present a Petition, signed by 3,000 inhabitants of the borough of Blackburn, complaining of practices that had taken place at the election for that borough. He had given notice of his intention to present this petition, that the Members for Blackburn, particularly the hon. Member on the Bench above him (Mr. Turner), might be in their places. If the effect of this petition should be to deliver the town of Blackburn from the oppression and the abominations which had been practised there at the last election, he should be in the highest degree gratified. Much did he owe to a large portion of the constituency and to the inhabitants of that town, for the kind and generous affection which, on many occasions, had been exhibited towards him, which had led him through two severely contested elections without the outlay of a single shilling; and which claimed from him every effort to prevent the influx of a deluge of corruption, and the iron-handed despotism of oppressive power. If he could rescue them from such evils, he should make them some not inadequate return for their unbought, unbribed devotion to the cause of Reform. At all events, he would say, that if such practices were to be allowed there, and elsewhere, as had accompanied the two elections, the elective franchise, instead of being a boon and a blessing to the new boroughs erected under the Reform Bill, would be a curse and a calamity. When the hon. Member first appeared, how was his advent welcomed—how, but by the 310 profuse introduction of the beer barrel—rolled even into the church-yard, and spilt upon the tombs of the forefathers of the place. Women and children were equally the victims of the hon. Gentleman's demoralizing intrusion—and so strong was the indignation excited, that a deputation, accompanied by a most respectable minister, waited upon him to implore that he would arrest the torrents of drunkenness, when with tears in his eyes the hon. Gentleman said he was sorry for such excesses, and would put a stop to them. But no! for on the occasion of the late election, the hon. Member carried the experiment further, and he not only attempted to pollute and corrupt but he had recourse to menaces. He (Dr. Bowring) had failed in his contest for that borough—it was most true—but no offended pride or wounded vanity influenced him—since the failure had been honourable to him, and had recommended him to a larger—and he might add, a purer and a nobler constituency. Yet he could not forget what he had witnessed—neither the terrorism and intimidation which had been exercised towards some nor the bribery and pollution which had depraved others. And such dangerous and despotic interference with the freedom of election which proved that it was the bounden duty of the House to provide some security for the free exercise of the elective franchise, so that it might not be in future what it was there now in reality—a scourge and a plague. The hon. Gentleman (Mr. Turner) had certain tenants in that borough. He now accused the hon. Member of having personally menaced them if they should vote for him (Dr. Bowring). He accused him of having personally insisted on the violation of promises, and of having extorted votes, not only for himself, but for his colleague, whose political principles were diametrically opposed to his own; for the other hon. Member had honestly come forward as a Conservative and a Tory, while he (Mr. Turner) had stood on the extreme of Radicalism—had pledged himself deeply to out-and-out Reformers—had swallowed Mr. Cobbett's propositions, and gone to the length of declaring, that he would vote for the adjustment of the National Debt. Now, indeed, he had changed places and principles, and acted under the inspiration of that zeal for Tory doctrines which becomes an earnest convert. On one occa- 311 sion, a tenant of the hon. Gentleman—a most honourable and conscientious man, applied to him (Dr. Bowring) stating, that though he approved of his (the hon. Member's) politics, he could not vote for any one who had swamped the place in drunkenness and immorality; but that he feared the consequences. He (Dr. Bowring) who, to say the truth, approved of the hon. Member's votes in the last Parliament, recommended him to vote for that gentleman. The elector did not—and what was the consequence? He received a letter, written not in a moment of excitation—not in the bustle of electioneering violence—but from Shrigley Park—the rural abode of the hon. Gentleman—dismissing him from his abode in these very words—"If I cannot have a friend for a tenant, I will not have an enemy." But, Sir, he was no enemy of the hon. Gentleman—no opposer of his politics—no adversary of any thing in his character, but his attempts to damage the public morals of the place he represents. Dr. Bowring said he knew that the menace had been withdrawn. The fear of public opprobrium had forced the hon. Gentleman to meditate awhile, and to retrace his steps. He (Dr. Bowring) knew that the hon. Gentleman might deny his participation in the scenes of riot and drunkenness that occurred—but he held in his hand irrefragable proofs—the bills of landlords and beer-sellers—unpaid as yet, but which were, notwithstanding, evidence irresistible of the means by which seats were obtained in Parliament, nor can the hon. Gentleman deny, that he publicly declared, he had never known money to fail, and that it should not fail to win his election. No less than forty-nine publicans had voted for the hon. Member (Mr. Turner), while only fourteen had voted for him (Dr. Bowring). To his own personal knowledge, in defiance of the acts of Parliament on the subject, the hon. Gentleman, after the writ was issued, opened several public-houses with a most liberal hand, and he could state from his own experience, for he had witnessed it with his own eyes, that children of fourteen and fifteen years of age received and drank a large number of glasses of brandy and water. [Laughter.] Hon. Members opposite might laugh, but it would become them more to ask themselves, whether it was by deeds like these, that wise men or good men qualified themselves to become 312 the lawgivers of nations. If the House valued the freedom of election—if it intended that Members should come there by honourable, and not by dishonourable, means—if it was intended that the intellect of the country, and not its profligacy, should be represented, it should adopt measures to prevent such proceedings as these. The hon. Member, after stating that the prayer of the petitioners was, that the system of open voting should be abolished, and the Vote by Ballot substituted, as the only remedy for such evils, concluded by moving, "That the Petition be referred to the Committee appointed to inquire into the means of preventing intimidation at elections."
§ Mr. Turner moved, that the petition be read, as he believed, that there was not an allegation in it either against his hon. colleague or himself.
§ The Petition having been read,
Mr. Turnersaid, that it now appeared that there was no allegation in it either against his hon. colleague or himself. If the hon. Member had let him know beforehand the contents of the petition, he should have been prepared to rebut every allegation contained in it; and if it were referred to a proper tribunal by that House, he should be ready to meet it. He thought that the hon. Member and his Friends would not come out of such an inquiry so immaculate as he would have the House believe they were. He was not himself present at Blackburn, until the day of nomination; and he had not canvassed a voter. With regard to the tenant alluded to by the hon. Member, he had not in fact asked him for his vote. That tenant wrote a note afterwards to him (Mr. Turner), stating that he had voted for the hon. Member (Dr. Bowring), because he was the losing candidate, and that he would have voted for him (Mr. Turner), if he had been in the same situation. That was the man he was said to have intimidated. He was sorry to trouble the House with these remarks; but he thought he was justified in making them after the manner in which the hon. Member had thought proper to allude to him.
§ Mr. William Fieldensaid, that this was rather a remarkable charge to prefer, the real fact being, that while the allegation, as far as the Friends and supporters of his hon. colleague and himself were concerned, was entirely unfounded, it applied most fully to the conduct of the 313 Friends and supporters of the hon. Gentleman, who created and fomented the utmost riot and turbulence during the election. He (Mr. Fielden) had never canvassed the borough of Blackburn unt the last election. On the day of nomination the riotous proceedings of the hon. Gentleman's supporters were so violent, that he (Mr. Fielden) was obliged to go away, through the fear of personal injury. The military were obliged to be under arms, and so great was the excitement that the returning officer found it necessary to adjourn the poll. He would not take up the time of the House by going into a refutation in detail of the allegations in the petition. He denied the charges generally as applicable to his party or his supporters, and he could not avoid expressing his astonishment that such charges should come from the party really open to them.
Quis tulerit Gracchos de seditione querentes?The Petition was ordered to be referred to the Committee appointed to inquire into intimidation at elections.