TOPICS OF THE DAY.
THE NEW CANDIDATE FOR LONDON.
MR. LYALL -declines to give any specific pledges, but says, "It is usual for candidates on such occasions to make some profession of their political opinions, and I can have no wish to conceal mine." Let us see what sort of a profession he makes.
In the first place, he is " free from any influence, but a conscien- tious appreciation of the measures which may be brought forward, to bias his decision upon them." What candidate, Whig or Tory, Ultra or Radical—if we take his own word for it—is not?
Next, he is "firmly attached to our excellent Constitution, which experience has proved to be eminently calculated to answer the essential objects .of government, in a rich, powerful, and extensive empire." Every candidate, it is taken for granted, is attached to the Constitution. Even the Radicals affirm that they desire nothing inconsistent with the Constitution.
Thirdly, he numbers among the advantages of the Constitution its self-correcting power; a Tory phrase, which means, that the Constitution being capable of correcting itself, needs no external measures of correction. But our worthy trimmer, finding that this would be really a profession of his faith, hastens to neutralize it, by a sentence which, taken in conjunction with it, is nonsense "And I shall at all times support the judicious application of this constitutional principle"—namely, the self-correcting power—" to the correction of any abuse, or the repair of any defect, which may appear to require amendment, consistently with its permanent stability." Thus, Mr. LYALL is an Anti-Reformer,because of the self-correcting power of the Constitution : then he is a Reformer, because this self-correcting power, after all, is not a self-correcting power. But as to the extent of Reform, or the subjects on which it is called for, he is silent as the grave. Fourthly, whatever difference of opinion may have existed re- specting the measure of Reform (he, good man, having merely heard of such things), all parties ought now to desire to concur cordially in upholding it, and making it conducive to the purposes of good government. Men of every party say this, from the Duke of WELLINGTON and Earl GREY downwards ; and therefore it amounts to nothing as a profession of political opinion.
To all this he adds some commonplaces about the desirableness of our great commercial questions being speedily settled, and the evil arising from their remaining in a state of uncertainty; and so ter- minates a profession of political faith, which with exquisite skill avoids every article about which there is the slightest dispute. The only thing of a positive nature in the whole of Mr. LYALL'S address, is his refusal to give specific pledges ; and for this he seems to take to himself great credit. We see nothing meritori- ous in it. We have certainly contended that candidates ought not unduly to fetter their conduct in Parliament by pledging them- selves to support or oppose pal.ticular measures; but it is equally plain that • every constituency ought to be well informed of the Political principles of the candidates. This they can only be, either by the previous political life of the candidate, or by his clear and explicit declarations. Has Mr. LYALL had any previous political life, that has made such declarations unnecessary ? If he has, it is more than we are aware of; and the worst of it is, that he tries to tickle the ears of the electors with a pretended declara- tion, thus showing his consciousness of its necessity.
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