15 JUNE 1839, Page 6

When the Clives were defeated at Ludlow, Whig retainers raised

a shout of exaltation. " Behold the effect of the Queen's noble con- duct in resisting the disloyal insolence of the Tories, and of Lord Mel- bourne's magnanimous resolution to defend his Royal mistress and return to office ! The Clive interest is prostrated in Ludlow ! Honour to the loyal and independent electors, who have made so glorious a de- mbnstration in favour of the good cause !" Having some knowledge of the state of parties in the not very important borough of Ludlow,— being aware of the extent of local influences there, some of them foul enough,—we laughed at the notion of Mr. Alcock's success or defeat being considered as an indication, one way or the other, of public opi- nion in England ; and now we have statements from Whig and Tory, which prove that the last Ludlow election was carried in the old way, and that the result may be reversed on the next opportunity. The reader has heard—most people have—of Mr. Lechnierc Charlton. This gentleman for many years was a thorn in the side of the Clives. He could not beat them ; but lie was a constant annoyance. At length, wearied with a fruitless struggle, he fell foul of his old friends, the anti-corporators ; rated them publicly for their meanness of spirit; and reconciled himself to the Clives. At the election of 1835, Lechmere Charlton was returned, with and by the present Earl Powis, to the Peel Parliament. He voted with the Tories, and was happy to shake hands with Lord Stanley, who favoured him with some of his grim smiles, when looking out for passengers in the Dilly. The last we heard of Mr. Charlton left the impression that he was still a Tory ; but he has made another wheel-about, and turned the election at Ludlow in favour insinuates

that the Liberal candidate. A Treasury paper, the Observer, that Mr. Charlton was induced by a satisfactory arrangement of money matters to support Mr. Alcock- " Mr. L. Charlton, who had had sane dispute with Mr. Alcock about some property he had sold to that gentleman in Ludlow, settled the disagreement before the election, and threw in his powerful aid to Mr. Alcock's advantage." The Morning Post says that pique, not profit, influenced Mr. Charlton— "The aid of Mr. L. Charlton was what turned the election. It was given to Mr. Alcock, not, we believe, as ingeniously stated by the Observer, as a oskeweight in a pecuniary bargain, but because Mr. Charlton had deserted the conservative party on account of his having some time ago been black-balled at s dab." It matters little which story gives the truth—the main fact being, that 11Ir. Lechmere Charlton's votes secured the Whig candidate's elec- tion. Verily this was a glorious demonstration ! But if Mr. Charlton had neither been bought nor black-balled, "public opinion" would have declared itself on the Tory side.