CANDIDATES FOR THE SPEAKERSIII P.
MR. ABERCROMBY is formally announced, on the part of his friends, as the Anti-Tory candidate for the Speakership. A better selection could not have been made ; and we confidently antici- pate the defeat of MANNERS SUTTON; whose busy partisanship, at the Palace, at Apsley Home, at Sir ROBERT PEEL'S, and at the Home Office, we exposed last week by a reference to the Tory record of his movements. We demonstrated, that at a time when very few, and always precisely the same set of Tory place- hunters, and no others, haunted the Palace and Apsley House, the late Speaker was among the most constant and forward of the dis- reputable " crew ;" that he did not confine himself to a formal attendance, when summoned at the Council board, but was con- tinually in the very hotbed of faction and intrigue. He dined with the Tory Ministers and Cabinet-makers in their private parties, when all but favourite associates were excluded, and when the common interests of the faction must have occupied their entire thoughts. Sir HENRY HALEORD—the preux chevalier of Con- servatism, who was to have nominated the RERESFORD at St. Alban's—invited the Cabinet Ministers and Sir CHARLES MAN- NERS Surrots—just as in ordinary life parties about to form a matrimonial connexion are invited to meet at the houses of common friends.
The Times was sorely gravelled, on Monday morning, by our catalogue of Sir CHARLES'S movements during the interregnum, and after the return of Sir ROBERT PEEL; and having no fair answer to give to the statement in the course of a long leading article, was forced to lake refuge in a sneer. Here is a specimen of the Thunderer's mode of treating the subject- , "November N.—The Speaker hail an audience of the King. What rank Toryism in Charles Manners Sutton to be honoured with an audience of the Sovereign! 19th.—More indictable matter ; Sir C. M. Sutton actually vi- sited his friend the Duke of Wellington ! tHst.—He dined with a Tory party at the Palace! Why, we are under a profound mistake if Lord Grey—if Lord illethourne—if twenty other Whigs, have not on occasion dined ' with "fury
parties' at the Palace. His Majesty has seldom been vary nice on that point.
He may invite whomsoever he thinks proper; and no subject, especially no Man in public office, can decorously refuse when so invited to wait upon the Sove-
reign. A pretty ground this, on which any Member of Parliament, save only
some crack-brained and ferocious Radical, could rest and justify his vote ! So, the Speaker again 'visited' the Duke of Wellington. The Speaker ' visited '
Sir Robert Peel, after the return of the latter font Italy. The Speaker dined' at Sir Charles Wetherell's. The Speaker 'dined' at Sir Edward Sngden's. The Speaker this day, if not shawed out of so disgraceful a porpose, is to • dine' at Sir Henry Raiford's; as we think he did some time ago at the Lord 3layor's, in company with the. Cabinet Ministers!"
All this betrays soreness, and proves that we " hit the nail on the head" by giving the visiting catalogue alluded to. The Times is welcome to its sneer: our purpose has been answered—that is quite evident. Independently, however, of' his politics, Sir CHARLES SUTTON'S qualifications for the Speakership are not to be compared to those of Mr. ABERCROMBY. It is with perfect truth that the Chronicle says- " Mr. Abercromby is Sir Charles Sutton's superior in talents, in character, inexperience of the mode of conducting the business of the House of Commons ; in short, iu every quality calculated to obtain for him the respect of what has been termed an assembly of the first gentlemen of Europe. Before the eleva- tion of Sir Charles Manners Sutton to the Chair, he was of no weight in the House. His voice was seldom beard, and when he did open his mouth, he seldom delivered a sentence which any one would wish to remember. . . . Sir Charles Sutton is possessed of good temper ; but it would be difficult to select a man with fewer positive qualifications in other respects for the Chair. His opinions cannot he controverted, for the best of all reasons, that they are incomprehensible. The reporter listens to a succession of sounding words with painful anxiety, in the hope of being able to discover some indication of meaning an them. Sentence follows sentence ; but the Indian who chases the sun from hill to bill is as likely to reach his object, as the listener to discover Any distinct proposition in the solemn twaddle uttered by Sir Charles Sutton."
This is a fair description of the manner in which the late Speaker dealt with questions of any difficulty. Ile resembled an actor in more than the artificial tones and measured mouthing,— an actor, namely, who does not know his part, but utters sounding nonsense instead of delivering the text of his author.
We repeat, then, that Mr. ABERCROMBY should be sup- ported as the better man for the office, independently of party or political considerations. That he will be elected, we have no doubt; and our opinion is strongly confirmed by observing that the Times declares that the attempt will " inevitably fail."
Previous page
