31 OCTOBER 1868, Page 2

The chances for Mr. Odger at Chelsea seem to be

improving. lie made a good and manly speech at Chelsea on Tuesday, which he commenced by announcing that his offer to Sir H. Hoare to determine which of the two should be the second Liberal candidate there, had been at last accepted. Three of Mr. Odger's committee were to meet three of Sir H. Hoare's committee, and the joint body, so formed, were to lay the claims of the candidates before Mr. Stansfeld, Mr. P. A. Taylor, and Mr. Hughes, whose award is, we conclude, to be final. Mr. Odger promised, if the decision went against him, to give all his aid to Sir H. Hoare and Mr. Dilke ; while Sir H. Hoare, on his part, appears to have made a similar promise. Mr. Odger naturally felt some pride in having induced a baronet to meet a working man on equal terms; and he thought it would be made into a precedent, and tend to the purification of elections. He indignantly denied going into Parliament for the sake of society. He wished for no better society than that of his fellow-workmen. He denied that he was in any way a slavish trades-unionist. He had always opposed the cry against machinery, and had refused to support the Stafford strikes against machinery. In a strike at Northampton he had opposed the men because he thought them breaking faith with their masters.