SCOTLAND.
The election of a Member for Peebles-shire took place on Monday; when Mr. Forbes Mackenzie offered himself for reelection. Some attempts had been made to obtain an opponent of the new Lord of the Treasury and of the Maynooth grant; but without success. Sir Geolge Grant Suttie, a moderate Conservative, had been invited to stand, but he declined. Mr. Carmichael junior, formerly Mr. Mac- kenzie's Whig opponent, was thought of, but he was travelling on the Continent. Mr. Mackenzie was proposed by Sir T. G. Montgomery, of Stanhope; who vaunted Mr. bfackenzie's faithful services for eight years, and argued that he would be able to attend more effectually to the interests of his constituents now that he was in office! Mr. Murray, a farmer, seconded the nomination. He un- derstood that a certain party had attempted to get some one, in a great measure if not altogether unconnected with the county, to come forward and oppose Mr. Mackenzie because they differed from him on some particulars, he knew not what. "Now really, gentlemen, if we are to have a new Member every time that certain portions of the community choose to differ with their representative in opinion, we shall have a new Member every fortnight. Hitherto, Mr. Mackenzie has devoted his time and talents to the service of this county withoet fee or reward; and now, when there is some prospect of some slight remuneration for his past service, it Would be the height of ingratitude in us not to give him our cordial su "
Mr. Lothian, a solieitor, put some questions to Mr. Mackenzie, with a running commentary Mr. Mackenzie remaining silent under the fire. It had been said that Mr. Mackenzie ought to have some little jay or advantage,—a novel argu- ment: why, that pay was the very reason that he came c:own to his constituents.
Besides, how had he earned his pay? was it by the eminence of his political sec.: vices, or by subserviency to the Minister of the day? In June 1840, 147 gentle- men voted for the National Schools in Ireland, and 23 against it : was Mr. Mackenzie one of the 28? On the same day, 121 voted for the Maynooth grant, 32 against it: did Mr. Mackenzie vote against the endowment of Maynooth Col- lege on that occasion? In September 1840, 99 voted for the grant, and 43 against
it: even Sir Robert Inglis then said that the College ought to have a year's warning; " No! " said Mr. Mackenzie by his vote. In July 1842, 95 voted for the grant, and Mr. Mackenzie still voted M the minority of 48 against it He did not answer these questions; and the natural conclusion was, that he never voted for the grant until he stepped from the place of voting into the comfortable quarters of a Lord of the Treasury. Mr. Mackenzie voted with the minority of 24 to 37 in the division on the Jews Declaration Bill introduced by the Whigs: would he, now that Peel was in office, vote for the bill against which he voted before? His conduct was undeniably inconsistent, but it might have been honest. "He may have undergone a genuine conversion just as the Treasury-door was opening. But I say this, that there are certain times at which conversion always looks suspicious. For example when a man is going to be hanged, people cannot place much reliance on his confession. A little boy once said to his father, All these people get converted; would it not be better that we should all be hanged?' It reminded him of another man, who disliked and hated a woman for many years because she was very poor and very ugly: but at last, suddenly and unexpectedly, she got a fortune: from that moment the man changed his opinion. The cash brought out beauties in her character and countenance that he never saw before. No doubt, the man's conversion might be honest; but it was made at a very ugly time." Mr. Mackenzie had given out that Mr. Pringle was coming down to vote for him: if that was the case, there must be a reconversion of Mr. Pringle. Reconversions are very rife now-a-days. If that is true, why does Mr. Mackenzie not go back to Sir Robert Peel, and say, " I will not do the shabby with my old friend Pringle: he has found out his blunder; he is going to do what you wanted him; I will not take the prey out of his mouth"? Mr. Lothian finished by calling on the electors to declare how they liked Mr. Mackenzie.
Bailie Fraser then proposed bk. Carmichael as a candidate; which was duly seconded.
Mr. Mackenzie addressed the electors. Great part of his speech was devoted to contradicting aspersions on his character made in placards; and especially he quoted a letter by Mr. Young, declaring that a correspondence about the Maynooth division, purporting to have passed between Mr. Young., the Secre- tary to the Treasury, and Captain Meynell, was a ridiculous fabrication. He averred that he had meant to vote in the first division of the Maynooth Bill, but that he arrived in London a few hours too late. He cited dates to show that it was impossible that he could have known of Mr. Pringle's resignation before the division on the second reading; and he asserted that he had never changed his opinion on the subject of the grant: "I always voted against it before, because the grant was so small that I thought it would do mischief. (Cries of" Oh, oh and groans.) Over and over again I declared my opinion to my friends, that if a large grant were proposed I would cheerfully support it. (Cheers and hisses.) I assure you that this is true; and therefore I hold that there has been no incon- sistency on this point." In his peroration he pointed to the "small black cloud" in the horizon- saying, "If we are to have war with America, let us at least have cordial understanding with Ireland"
When the show of hands was taken, about ten were held up for Mr. Mackenzie, and several hundreds for Mr. Carmichael. A poll was demanded; on which Mr. Carmichael was withdrawn, and Mr. Mackenzie was declared to be duly elected..
An address was forwarded to the Members for Edinburgh, signed by about It thousand electors, stating their stating disapprobation of the Maynooth bill, and ' their determination not to vote for any one at a subsequent election by whom such a measure was not strenuously opposed. In his reply, Mr. Macaulay acknowledged' the receipt of the address; simply adding—" I have no apologies or reta-actations to make. I have done what I believed, and believe, to be right. I have opposed myself manfully to a great popular delusion. I shall continue to do so. I knew- from the first what the penalty was; and I shall cheerfully pay it." [The. penalty, we believe, is nothing; the seat of the eloquent Member being quite safe.)
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