the better.' (5) And has he now the face to complain of treachery, when that very opposition has taken place, which he himself foresaw? Would it not have been something more akin to treachery, to have approved of the Report at his Committee, and then to have kept back the publication of it till his Election was over? (6) Let

(5) A downright falsehood. Mr. Hobhouse never made such a remark to his Committee, as the Chronicle calls a Committee which was not his, and over which he had not the slightest control. If the remark had been made, it must have been made privately; the information must have been given confidentially to the writer in the Chronicle, and the making use of such information could never enter into the head of any but a gentleman Whig. The completing the attack by the answer said to be made by the Committee, and supposing phrases for the sake of founding a comment upon them, to the prejudice of that Committee, is admissible only by the rules of the same polite high-bred morality.

(6) Here is the same sort of questioning-and tends to hint that Mr. Hobhouse approved of the Report, but wished it to be kept back to serve his own treacherous purposes, and until he could attack the Whigs with security. Now as the writer knew nothing at all of the facts, as he could know nothing of them, is it possible to conceive a more dishonorable attempt to ruin the character of an individual? The actual truth is, that Mr. Hobhouse's private personal wishes would have led him to have kept the specific mention of the name of Lord Grey out of any Report: because he understood that his Lordship and his Lordship's son-in-law, Mr. Lambton, had expressed themselves personally favorable to him—and he knew that what actually did occur, would occur, namely, that he himself would be supposed to have gone out of his way to attack individually those individuals inclined to be friendly to him. He told this voluntarily to Mr. Lambton and to Sir Ronald Ferguson; but he made those gentlemen give him their honors that they would not only not tell any one this circumstance, but would not act upon it. On general public grounds he defended the Report.

So fearful was Mr. Hobhouse lest he should be supposed to enter into the slightest compromise with the Whigs, that he would not allow to be publicly known that which he might tell with the most perfect truth; and which, had he made it publicly known, would very probably have prevented all the Whigs from consenting to oppose him, and thereby possibly have stopped the contest altogether. General Ferguson and Mr. Lambton at the time regarded Mr. Hobhouse's conduct in that light. They told him they looked upon his conduct as most fair, manly, and honorable; and parted from him with many and repeated tokens of esteem. The General's last words were, " By God! I can't help wishing you well after all." Mr. Hobhouse having enjoined secrecy to these Gentlemen, did not think he was

the charge of treachery recoil on him who best merits it. The Whigs have been credulous; but they are incapable of treachery? They would never have permitted Mr. Hobhouse to carry on a canvas in Westminster for three months without opposition, if he had expressed at that time the same opinions of their public conduct, which he now delivers from the Hustings." (7)

at liberty to mention the above circumstance to any one. Even when the ridicu lous report in the Observer appeared, he did not publicly contradict it: he felt that the General and Mr. Lambton could not possibly be the authors of it. When questioned at the Committee, he contented himself with saying the story was false; but when the allusion to this meeting appeared in the Chronicle, he thought fit to mention the whole fact to the managing Committee; and his statement has been literally followed and given above.

(7) Mr. Hobhouse could not express the same sentiments before the Whigs started a Whig against the popular candidate, as he did after they had started a Whig against the popular candidate. Mr. Hobhouse's sentiments, as has been before stated, respecting the bad tendency of party-respecting the Whig coalition ministriesrespecting the change of sentiment observable in their conduct on Parliamentary Reform-he had never concealed from any one. His conduct at the General Elec. tion of 1818, prevented any mistake; so much so, indeed, that Mr. Sturch in his speech on the 17th of November, when Mr. Hobhouse was nominated, said, that Mr. Hobhouse had done all in his power to keep Sir Samuel Romilly out of Westminster. Although this was not true, it was quite sufficient to shew that Mr. Hobhouse was considered as any thing but a WHIG; and that he was hostile to the combination of party, was seen and understood by the WHIGS themselves, who, as before asserted, lent him no support, and were continually eager to start a candidate against him. But whatever Mr. Hobhouse, or any other man might have thought of the WHIGS, of course his opinions must have been regulated by their conduct; and as it was impossible to show a more decided proof of the selfish, irritable, domineering, anti-popular spirit of party, than was given by the starting of Mr. Lamb under the peculiar circumstances of the case, that event was quite sufficient to develop the real character of the Whigs, had it been concealed be fore, and to justify any comment upon their conduct. The Whigs, perhaps, expected that their opposition to the Reformers would be received with tame sub. mission, with mute resignation; that the supporters of Mr. Hobhouse would be content with silently recording their names at the poll, without hearing any reason which might justify their preference of the popular to the party candidate. Certainly this would have been very convenient for the Whigs, and might have produced that consummation which they flattered themselves actually would be effect

The intervening Sunday was no Sabbath to either party. The Coalition Committees were in the utmost activity; and a general meeting of that of the Reformers took place at the Crown and Anchor Tavern, Sir Francis Burdett was in the Chair: there were present nearly 300 of the Committee. The managing Committee made a report of the state of the canvassing books; and after some discussion, the meeting agreed that notwithstanding the state of the poll, there appeared no reason to doubt of the final issue of the contest. Every individual present promised to exert himself personally to bring up to the poll as many votes on each of the remaining days, as, if their exertions should succeed, would secure the election. It is certain, that when the meeting broke up, the prevalent opinion was, that the Reformers would be at the head of the poll on Tuesday. Every one looked forward with the utmost anxiety to the struggle of the next day, which, it was presumed, would give certain indications of the final event.

ed, namely, that before the first week was over, Mr. Lamb, by the mere force of genuine wit, would be the favorite of the people. This might, perhaps, have been the case, if either Mr. Lamb had had all the talk to himself, or, if the contest at the hustings had been confined to cracking of jokes; but the Reformers wish to be serious, and think that the Farce should not be acted without the doors of Parliament- -so Mr. Hobhouse, and, worse than that, Sir Francis Burdett, told their minds seriously; and as the Whigs put the public in possession of their past virtues, these gentlemen brought forward so much of their history as sufficed to shew that the party patriots were not entirely without a blot in their escutcheon.

Finally-it may be remarked, that Mr. Hobhouse never attacked any good principles, as professed by the Whigs; he attacked Whig practices; and he more than once endeavoured to shew that he and the Reformers in general were still the representatives of those principles which Mr. Fox and his friends advocated in 1798, and of which the present party were the determined opponents.

MONDAY, MARCH 1.-THIRTEENTH DAY.

THE rain poured down the whole of the morning. The consequence as usual was injurious to the popular candidate, many of the voters remained at home. In the mean time, the great exertions of the coalition, and particularly of the government, kept down the majority of the Reformers; and, at the middle of the day, the polling on both sides was even. The weather prevented any popular assemblages in the various parishes.

Mr. Hobhouse and Sir Francis Burdett proceeded to the Committee-Room about two o'clock. On their arriving there, immediate representations were made to them of the organization by the coalition of a large band of prize-fighters, lamp-lighters, coalheavers, costermongers, watermen, and others, to the number of about six hundred. These persons, it appeared, divided into several bands, were parading the streets in the vicinity of Covent-Garden, armed with bludgeons, cleavers, axes, and other dangerous weapons, and had already hustled and beaten, and otherwise maltreated Electors, and others, wearing the blue ribbon. They had endeavoured to break through the line reserved for those going to poll from the Reformers' Committee-Room; and had so mixed themselves up with the people in front of the hustings: that from two o'clock, until the close of the poll, there was a perpetual affray. The people, though totally unarmed, or with such weapons only as they had snatched from their antagonists, managed to preserve the line to the hustings; but many of those who had witnessed the ferocity of the hired party, intreated Sir Francis Burdett and Mr. Hobhouse not to move without protection, as, in spite of popular favor, a single ruffian might do a serious injury to either of them. Mr. Hobhouse immediately repaired to the High-Bailiff, and made a complaint of the conduct of the gang, desiring that every care might be taken that the voters might proceed to the poll unmolested. Mr. Morris gave directions to the High-Constable; and at the same time, two gentlemen, who had been witness to the violences, complained to the sitting Magistrate, at Bow-Street ;* and a little more investigation proved, that one of the very persons who had been employed in the hiring of those ruffians, was a Bow-Street officer. Mr. James, Macdonald, and a

* A deputation from the Reformers' Committee also waited upon the magistrates; but, it was presently seen, as it had before been seen in the case of Sir Murray Maxwell's ruffians, that the people would have to defend themselves from Mr. Lamb's gangs how they could.

Captain Prescott, of Mr. Lamb's Committee, had, it was found, employed, amongst others, one Bond, a Bow-Street Patrole; and had bargained with him for a number of ruffians, who, under pretext of protecting Mr. Lamb's voters, were to annoy those for Mr. Hobhouse. Three or four individuals attached to the Reformers, had actually allowed themselves to be hired by this Bondhad received the instructions-had procured the list of the whole band under several captains, and had possessed themselves of the whole of the iniquitous secret, which they communicated to the Committee in King-street. Mr. Lamb's Committee, and Mr. Lamb himself, not being aware of this discovery, chose flatly to deny, as will be seen, the whole proceeding, and up to the last moment, actually charged the Reformers with that violence which they had themselves deliberately organized. To keep up the delusion, Mr. Lamb's advertisement continued, as on Saturday, to state, that his voters would be protected, and have free access to the poll. A little before the close of the poll, several persons ran into the Committee-Room in King's-Street, with news of renewed outrage: two men dreadfully wounded also entered, and gave in a written deposition to Mr. Hobhouse, which was to be forwarded to the Magistrate-Mr. Hobhouse's brother himself arrived with intelligence, that he had been forced to fly from a band, crying Lamb for ever, and brandishing deadly weapons. A Captain Manby appeared with a similar account, and begged that he might be conducted to the hustings to tell his story to the people. The utmost indignation prevailed amongst the large body assembled at the CommitteeRoom, and in the court-yard. A single word, either from Sir Francis Burdett or Mr. Hobhouse, would have been sufficient to dispatch the people in a body, and to drive before them the whole gang which was now regularly drawn up in Henrietta-Street before Mr. Lamb's Committee-Room. But, the people were exhorted by these gentlemen to keep the peace-justice was promised them, and they contented themselves with thronging round Mr. Hobhouse and Sir Francis Burdett, in order to protect them as they proceeded to the hustings.

Scarcely had Mr. Hobhouse and Sir Francis shown themselves on the hustings, than several voices cried out, "Lamb has hired another gang."-Shortly after, the clinking of marrow-bones and cleavers was heard, and proved to be the music of a large band of hired men, who were preceding Mr. Lamb to the hustings. That gentleman came forward with Mr. Lambton and Mr. Macdonald, and was cheered by the hired ruffians stationed on his side of the hustings. The people on all sides hooted loudly, and cried out, No Lamb! No hired gang! No Whig!