The Worcestershire Reformers gave the Members of the Eastern division
of their county, Messrs. Cookes and Holland, a public dinner, at Stourbridge, on Monday. Mr. Holland was elected as a rather Conservative Whig ; but he has been made more Liberal in his polities by the events of the last session, and must now be reckoned among the Whig-Radicals. We recollect noticing his subscription of twenty guineas to the O'Connell Fund, after the decision of the Dublin Coln- vaittee, of which he was a member, as a symptom of Liberalism that would be unpalatuble to his Tory friends, but would gain him hottest and independent support from the earliest Reformers. From his speech at the Stourbridge dinner, we find that Mr.' Holland wishes to restrain the Peers by the " suspensive veto," and that he has become a convert to the Ballot. We give an extract from this part of his speech— He had always bad a repugnance to secret voting, which he still felt. There was something noble and manly in the idea of a freeman coming boldly to the poll and declaring virii voce for whom he registered his vote; and though, indeed, this was but theoretical, still he had always felt loth to assist in preventing that theory from being put into practice. From what he had seen and learned, however, during the recess, he had been driven to the conelusion that it was necessary to thwart intimidation by secret voting. He was driven to this con- clusion by knowing the machinery framing for future acts ot inti lll i l lation,— such as the letting of farms to joint tenants, &c. ; and by seeing how iutimida- lion was calculated upon as influencing tenants where propetty has changed hands, and the purchaser holds a different political creed to the seller. But more particularly was he driven to this conclusion, by what he hail himself witnessed, and what they uow heard of thrmighout England,—viz. a fresh class of men called in large bands to take their share in political meetings. He, for one, rejoiced to see the operatives so culled forth, and making an exertiou of their thinking powers for their own interests : but he considered their beiug SO au additional argument for ballot ; for west certainly would this lead to an ex- tension of the suffrage; and if the higher classes u-ed the itifluence of their wealth and position for purposes of intimidation, it could not be expected other- wise than that these nwn would also telt forward their power, and like man- ner comee and intimidate their emplm cis, whose stock in trade and whose warehouses lie constantly exposed to destruction front that power which they would wield—viz. physical force.
Excellent ! the argument, so far as it goes, could not he put in a better form. Perseverance to the neophyte, Mr. Holland.
The Reformers of Poole had a public dinner on Tuesday. It was very numerously attended, unit several of the compitey were men of very large property. Lord Strefford urged union oolong Reformers very strenuously. Air. Tulk &dared himself a fl.. col Ile furmer—a real Radical, in favour of the Ballot, Short ParliamPlItS, Extension of the Suffrage, and Peerage Reform. Mr. Berkeley Portimei said, that the present was not a time for divisitm : the Reformers should rather choose a leader in whom they could place contideece to lead them on to victory ; and if Lord Melbourne had not rouraye awl prudence enough to enlarge his measures at the proper lime, he leas nwl,,/it to lead them ; but be firmly believed that Lord Melbourne had the eourege tied pru. deuce, and every qualification necessary to obtain the victory over cur- ruption.
111r. Dram said he would contend with the Tories in Wareham until he had emancipated that borough ; and, from the result of the regis- tration, there was every prospect that he should succeed at the next election.
The Radicals of the district of Trigg, in Cornwall, have invited Sir Molesworth to u public dinner in the first week in De- cember.
The West Norfolk Tories gave a grand dinner at Lynn, on Tues- day, to Messrs. Chute and Bagge, who are to oppose Sir William Folkes and Sir Jacob Astley at the next election. The chief speakers were Captain Wodebouse and Lord Orford; but their speeches con- tained nothing better than a hash of the Tory topics of abuse of the Whigs, Mr. Hume, and Mr. O'Connell, and praise of the Lords which seasoned the oratory of the same parties at the Norwich dinner, an ac- count of which we gave recently.
On the 1st of December, the West Sumersetshire Tories will dine together at Ilminster.
The West Devon Standard, Tory journal, published in Devonport, after a two years' struggle for existence, has been discontinued.—De- vonport Telegraph.
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