Mr. John Maxwell has addressed a letter to his constituents
in Lanarkshire, in reply to the resolution of the Hamilton meeting, which we mentioned three or four weeks ago. He speaks with con- tempt of the meeting; which, he says, was collected by a bellmati mu a market-day. It might be very respectable notwithstanding, and in- fluential too, as Mr. Maxwell may yet discover. He utterly denies that he has deceived his constituents, or acted contrary to his profes- sions; and endeavours to get off from his pledge to aid in turning out the Peel Ministry by this notable shuffle- " The terms in which I hail always spoken of Sir Robert Peel as a legisla- tor, and of the Duke of Wellington as a commander, had been employed to raise doubts of my disapproval of the line of policy that they had adopted ; and at a late election I pledged myself to endeavour to remove them from office. They had net then piten any evidence of a resolution to meet the wants and wishes of the nation as they have since done; but the electors will remember that 1 also pledged myself not to Oppose any measure these Ministers might in- troduce which appeared to me calculated to beuefit the country. " Support to Lurd Melbourne's Cabinet could not be, and was not asked by the electors of Lanarkshire.
"1 never intimated any intention to meet the electors at Hamilton annually. I have abstained as much as possible from attempting to collect the electors at Hamilton, Airdrie, and Lanark, to avoid the appearance of borough-political objects. 1 stated that I should attend a meeetiug of the electors or delegates of their number, appointed at parish meetings, at the cud of every session.' Ihey have met me not."
He says that he went round the county after the Tithe Appropria- tion became a Cabinet question, and announced his " resolution to op- pose it, to enable the electors to elect another Representative ;" but they never asked him to resign. He will continue to vote independently of the Ministry—he claims for the first county in Scotland indepen- dence of the Treasury. The upshot of the matter is, that the elec- tors of Lanarkshire have a Representative who has the wish but not the courage to join the Tories. Does that suit them ? If not, they must turn Mr. Maxwell out at the next election. They should prefer an honest Tory to him.
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