Colonel Thompson, who is a candidate for the representation of
Lei- cester at the next election, was invited by the Clhartists of that town to preside at a (honer to he given there to Mr. ',moot on his liberation from Warwick Gaol. T he Colonel, however, declined the invitation, on the ground that le- i-. pres..nt a Member of Parliament. He takes the opportunity in hi, 'weer oil this occasion to state his particular wievarae•-, a !H. ,11-• h.!-Iists how to conduct themselves-
64 When 1 -.-,[ ,.•., which other men have, nobody could
charge me with b • - • my' lace in an ad vamme. But I was put down and trmshien bi P on, by s4hat is known be the name of the Lichfield 110,,, v.,. rl.it.. Aln-loiner for all Ireland WEIS the head, and the Menu.b.r I1. :J.J. I1\ .n t,1'.2 tail—un rio WIWI gromind but heir.g thought a in nt t.k 12. to chime ; and I have lost no opportunity of jummtify tog the comrectm.• -.. of th.-Ir pt,yeesticatiwi. The pe,,ple have no:where had the energy, or is-rl.mmp. tin.• bleb ;night bait ola,:e this policy recoil on the toes of the authors ; mmn•: mai/ Cali 11J41...• s- ,olliebody will find him straw. Arid there 1.0 defeet of ae other Li. In a country where the legislati...e power hy various legi4itive made a thing for purchase, 1 a a,' Iglaap4r ely to buy a mart in, for t hi. pIn. 11Se. But nobody would join, and a great mammy would hioder. The 11. ■.ig jac-s posted me by name as a man who it a., 114,%cr to be allov.ed to re;Mter Pa. liament ; and the master-manufacturer., it. a bov! (11114e 1 11:141 out the patrimony of toy children like water, at a time it hen by themselves they could not tell what hurt them, subscribed for the same worthy purpose, in revenge for my having taken the side of the working-classes and the unrepresented. The People have acted weakly; perhaps it was because they were weak. They have allowed an old friend to be trampled on by the good Reformers' who have succeeded in stopping all Reform. It may be that their wakefulness will return with their strength. "But the essential thing is, what we are to do now? One point is in our favour—that we are incapable of despair ; like the Saints, we know that we shall inherit the earth ; and consequently, all things which happen are only so many turns the road must take to lead to that conclusion. If your meeting of the 3d of August do not evaporate in words, omit all execration of the Go- vernment; you can do that by yourselves at home at any time. Try to do something substantial, that shall last. Lay the foundation of a society for carrying candidates of your opinion to the poll all over the empire at the next general election ; which may be to-morrow. On this point the fear of you has been confessed. Ministers, you are told by the Irish leader, cannot dissolve Parliament because the 'real Reformers are suffocated by Tory-Radicals and Chartists'—the terms for all who have not helped to busk Reform. Look sharp after the old Tory-made laws, which will be applied to you and to nobody else : and for this purpose get Francis Place to be of your counsels—he knows more of the matter than the Lord Chancellor. Have no secretaries, neither in town or country ; any two active citizens may correspond, and defy the Devil and all his works. When the society is in activity, put me down for 1,0004 as I offered long ago. Never mind whether your candidates are returned or not ; your business is to carry them to the poll, and get the most votes you can. In places which send one Member of Parliament, see to getting up a candidate of your own, and try your strength, if it is only twenty." * * " I know that an election is nothing but a trial of strength, the rogues against the honest teen, and that there is neither law nor justice for the Peo- ple's candidate: therefore it may he as well to have what a sailor calls a 'pre. venter' at hand. Let your society publish the names of melt 9ualitied persons as will allow themselves to be proposed wherever a candidate is wanted to try your strength with. In the last resort, there will always be myself and my eldest son. My qualification is 6001. a year, clear of all deductions, in life estate, in the parishes or townships of Cottingliam, Patrington, and Hollyin, in the East Riding of the county of York ; and my eldest son is qualified in consequence too. His christian names are Thomas Perronet Edward; and his legal description is 'esquire and barrister-at-law, of 21, Old Buildings, Lincoln's Inn, in the county of Middlesex.' Above all things, in all times and places, look keenly after every man whoever calls himself a 'good Refirrmer,' or ut- tered the word 'Tory-Radical:' depend on it he was one that helped to sell your pig. " One thing more. If there be good in you at all, send our friend Lovett to Parliament at the next general election. He is in all personal respects the most fit and proper man in England ; and if it is a qualification that is wanted, we will talk about that another time. No earthly thing would so flurry our opponents; and they will laugh in their sleeves at the working-classes so long as they cannot send a man of themselves to the House of Commons. The ne- cessary expense might easily be defrayed. If he is to go to the Speaker's din- ners, we shall have to buy him a monkey-dress, unless the Representatives of the People have by that time liberated themselves front the degradation of
going to their own servant in the livery of Court footmen. William Lovett in
a sword and bag would be enough to put down the practice by himself: it would seriously go a long way towards the discovery that there had been a mistake in calculating what the people's representatives were made of. And what a chuckle to see Imitn standing opposite the Minister in the House of Commons looking 3d. a day for eggs, bacon, milk, and butter!' You positively must do it, if it is only- for jest's sake. There is not a working-man in England who would not rather give his :shilling for it titans go into the shilling gallery."
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