publiemeetin composed of electors and non-electors, was held at the

victoria Rooms, Hull, on Monday evening, to consider " the facts con_eiected with the late purchases of freedom of new burgesses in re- turn

r a

pa %ten engagement to vote as directed at the next election." As eXplanwatin'on of the transaction alluded to will be found in the ac- count f 0 the proceedings at the meeting. Mr. C. Bedford having been lrd to the chair,

Colonel Thompson, who had come from London for es

the purpose of attending the meeting, spoke to this effect— tie had come forward on the present occasion, thinking it the fairest course %Tidal an individual in his position could take. Ile wished tbr nothing, in- tended nothing, but what met be. suinnitted to any individual of sound and rod sense ,whatever course is principles might have induced him to take in politics. Be had no secrets. If any one had a question to ask, hit him ask it bow, or for ever hold his peace. He need not go thr back to recut to the recol- lection of the meeting, that on the i airisinf of the ,probabilritylof lot speedy dis- sal fon of Parliament, he propose( t oat t tat) actions o the e orm party sh- :old to the best they could to assist each other in mutually voting for each 0ther'8 emaciate. That proposal was closed ivith, and congratulations took oes everywhere on the union which had been effected. How then did the presentdiffere noes arise ? Would any person state who began and set on lbot the plan of influencing poor men's votes by buying their freedom ? heaven forbid that he should object to the poor man having all the influence he could obtain; but he did object to seeing poor men's votes sold like beef or mutton, sf any thing else in the market ; and it grieved him much that it should have been ever supposed that he would enter into such to plan. If any man hail no honest right to support, he would not be the person to hang lack on the (wen- sem; but he would not be a party to a dishonest attempt which would throw the town back a quarter of a century in the list of Reform boroughs. Now, what had been done? A plan was set on foot for purchasing freedom fin- the new burgesses. Did not those know %OW began the plan, that if one side did his the other would be sure to do the same, with the ndvantagn of saying " it tans not we who began ?" Well, then, who were the men who svent !Mali to encourage the buying of these freedoms ? Ile was afraid they were some of ins own friends, men svlio thought they were serving his told thegeneral cause by what they did. When this was first annomwed to him, he took but four-and-twenty hours to form his opinion on the matter. Ile then acted according to an existing compact, that if an) source of jealeusy should arise between ally divisions of the Refbrin narty, implication should be made to the .quarter most closely interested in the COH1111011 SOCCC,,4, in order that the requisite explanation might be obtained. lle appleal to that (martyr for procuring a distinct reason for what load taken place. The answer he re - ceivol was, that application had been made to Mr. Larard for a certain list which the Radical party were understood to have, which was in truth the basis of oh their strength. Their means of upholding themselves were solely that flog hada list of men determined at all hazords to vote for the Radical cause, motto take such course as upon consider:aim' they might think conducive to its advancement. Mr. Larard said he could not give up the list—it wns a confidential matter—it would expose ninny individuals to solicitation and inti- midation. If this list had been asked floe before the agreement was made, that would have been a fair occasion ; but after that, it was too much to say, "Tell us your strength; give us with your owu hands the means of judging whether imam throw you overboard or not." Be therefore concluded that Air. Larard did rightly, wisely, and well. The answer received was this : there was nothing like having the precise words.

An interruption occurred, in consequence of Mr. Galloway asking Colonel Thompson whether the letter he was about to read was; not a " private and confidential" communication from Mr. Clay—the cal Ai- date supported by the Whigs? Colonel Thompson acknowledged that the letter was marked " private ;" but he refused to consider a connuu- nieMion on such a subject, made under such circumstances, as a secret one; and he proceeded to read Mr. Clay's answer— "4 Finding him (Mr. Larard) quite untraceable, I felt it necessary to have a list to offer on exchange for lois, or, if compelled so to use it, a weapon to play against his.' Do I understand ;hat ? Am I right or ant I wrong in saying that, when I asked for an explanation from the quarter best able to give it, I faid the object was to get up a list of new voters equal in number to my friends or party, with a view to neutralize or paralyze them ? (Loud cries of " Shame, chase!") Here then is the ground on which I take my stand. After this, 1 load no resource but immediately to declare the state of things to the Consti- tuenty;_which I did, in the address which I published. W lett would anybody bare had me do? Would they have wished me to say, I know what this Is done for, but the constituency shall not know—it shall toe kept front them—all shall go on in the dark, that as much mischief as possible may be produced? ' Does anybody intimate that I am mistaken in believing that a plan was set on foot for purchasing freedoms for new burgesses? Is it not notorious that men stood paying for the freedoms as they were taken up, on one side and on the other? I understand there went down one hundred sovereigns in one batch, and two hundred in another batch—no insignificant sum in men's eyes, as the timesgo. If! am wrong, correct me ; and don't let it go forth that I made au inexact statement, and man would set one right. Well, then, we will assume this to be is matter of popular notoriety. One question more—I hope anybody will answer. Did any of that money come from me ? (" No, no ! ") Ism sure nobody can say it did. The men whose freedoms were paid for signed a certain pledge. There must be some scores or hundreds lwre who know what that pledge was. There again, correct me if I am wrong. Was it anything like this We, the undersigned, hereby pledge ourselves to vote for melt candidate or candidates in the Refinan interest at the next election for the borough of Kingston-upon-Hull as B. M. Jalland may require.' (Loud cries of" Shame I" ) This is pat forward as what was notoriously the con- tents of this ',ledge. See, then, the condition into which your borough has been brought. The right of election tuts been taken from you, and lodged in a Committee of the House of Coinmons—the last tribunal to which any nem in this country would voluntarily see the election of a representative com- mitted. The direct consequence would have lore-n, that, if I had been brought in after such a transaction, our opponents would have come forward and talked a little about the three hundred sovereigns. My wonder is, that any man mild be so defective in the ordinary knowledge of the connexion between causes and consequences, as not to see that this would have been the ease. Well, then, Out came my address." In reply to a question from Mr. Galloway, Colonel Thompson said he had written the address without consulting anybody. More con- versation occurred ; and it appeared that Mr. Larard's list was framed before the recent coalition of Whigs and Radicals, and had reference to tt bygone state of things; also, that the taking up of the burgesses' freedoms commenced before any application was made for Larard's list, and therefore could not have been the consequence of the refusal to Produce that list.

The meeting, by a large majority, adopted three resolutions.

"That it is proved to the conviction of this meeting that the plan for Paying for the freedom of new burgesses orioinated in the intention to neu- tralize the influence of the Radical party." e'

"That such an operation by itself cancels every previous combination; and the Radical party thereby stand free to take any measures they may think conducive to the advancement of their cause."

0 That this meeting, being perfectly satisfied with Colonel Thompson's Parliamentary conduct during the time he represented the borough, hereby pledge a itself to support Lim at the next election."

Colonel Thompson, who had said that if there was any difficulty about a Radical candidate at the next election, his son should stens!, again spoke— "After the decision which has been come to by this meeting, I think (sir game begins. You have determined, by a large majority, that the Radicals are in that position when they are perfectly free to take any measure they may think for their own advantage. We stand here, then, an independent party. It is in this way that countries and parties are driven into independence. We have given numberless proofs of our svidt to unite with the Whigs. For my own part, I refused to stand for two boroughs where it might have iu terfered. with a Whole. We did not leave them, they left us. If two boards have been glued together, and one is separated, 1 suppose tiw other is. The Whig leaders began with professions of intending to carry forward useful liefornas. how far did they get ? Just so far as to get themselves into °thee ; and NI Int was the next word they uttered ? Finality. (Low! cheers.) have they not virtually made an agreement with the Toriee_ that so long as they hold office there shall by no l'arther reform ? And Inot; did they treat us, who had been their friends, and who had pet-linos some of us gone a little further than was prudent ? The people of England had raised them on their shoulders iota place. and then they t urn round and seize their leaders, and exercise all manner of hard laws upon 11 cold—crop their heads, shave their whiskers, ait.1 then turn thcccocodooIv iorivihv. tinder these circumstances it is they taunt no with a de- sire to let ito the Tory. Those let its the Tory who make a virtual compaet to do the 101' work. I hope we shstil 1,- proof against all sarcasms of this kind. We will do the hest we can to kei p out the Tories, and the Tories' mates." *

" Wherever the Radicals are to out rilinte a portion of the expend'

themselves, I cuoo 1.0:14 toe sesline so my ii.iiiior:;1•• wild a

thee want qualii1yd persons, myself and IIOld lhe ground till they can put some better persons telt> telr reeto. V;ity ai00000ictleo lice

Radicals in thi: sv,:y set up third' vandid• to'; ;11 t!“ ensuing elect Mil 0 —and

Flord)' they would eat ey some ttf I hem. .1m1 it iVoidd. to our cause, \thy SI101:Ill coot 1,1 02'0 :I • .''al am Mir under foot C 000 heave the strain on oue .11 hot b laic 1% him it sM:ed u • .

you come to !Mt IiCI:t•iit your the &Ate shall be forthcoming any day you ;; k for him."

Thauks were voted to the Cheirman, and the meeting separated.