The Pembrokeshire Herald and General Advertiser

PEMBROKESHIRE ELECTION. The lamented decease of Earl Cawdor and the conse- quent elevation of Viscount Emlyn to the House of Peers have occasioned a vacancy in the representation of the county, and within a short period from the present time we shall be involved in all the turmoil and discord of a contested election. There are two candidates for the suffrages of the electors,—Mr Lort Phillips, of Lawrenny Park, and Mr Hugh Owen Owen, Lieut-Col. of the Pem- brokeshire Militia, whose addresses will be found in another portion of our paper. A contested election is undoubtedly a great evil to a community: and the man whoso ambition induces him to provoke the enmity and ill-will inevitable on such occasions incurs a grave respon- sibility, which may almost he considered to amount to a crime if the conflict is excited without just cause or reasonable expectation of success. But before proceeding to discuss the merits and to consider the claims of the respective candidates, we think it is due to the late repre sentative of the county to pay him a tribute of thanks for his very valuable services during the lengthened period of 19 years. His Lordship in removing to the Upper House will carry with him the respect and esteem of his former constituents, who have exhibited their estimation of his public worth by electing him unanimously on five different occasions, and have always evinced for him the strongest personal regard. The few enemies that he has encountered—and we rejoice to say that they are few indeed—have been obliged to admit that his conduct from the earliest recollection has been always 4 honourable and unimpeachable,' and His Lordship can well afford to dis- regard the contemptuous sneers of a puny offshoot of fading celebrities,1 who, whenever the occasion presents itself, favours the public with nauseous dissertations on the accomplishments of his family, and in simpering accents doles out pitiful laments over the changes that have occurred in their fortunes. His Lordship is the consistent and earnest advocate of Conservative principles, and in this respect was the true representative of tbe sentiments of the large majority of the electors of Pembrokeshire. He has never made any pompous display of what he would accomplish for the County—either in a rescue from 4 vas- salage' or in a struggle for the maintenance of 'rights' —but Jhas unostentatiously and steadily given his sup- port to those measures which he deemed calculated to promote the general welfare. He has ever been mindful of our local interests, as his numerous liberal subscriptions to public objects of utility abundantly testify, and here his conduct suggests a striking contrast to that of some of his detractors, whose promises, neither small nor few, have been proverbially more 4 honoured in the breach than in the observance.' A character so estimable could not fail to win the favourable regards of every man whose regard is worth having; and the regret whicfi we feel at being deprived of his services—a regret all the more painful on account of the circumstances by which that deprivation has occurred—is softened by the reflection that his abilities will not be lost to the country, and that as a member of the House of Lords he will discharge the duties of his station with the zeal, honesty, and fidelity that characterized his endeavours as our county repre- sentative in the House of Commons. But to revert to the immediate subject cf our article; we venture to state that the County will find a worthy successor in Mr Lort Phillips. In soliciting the suffrages of any constituency, we think it is the duty of the candidate to give a fair and candid exposition of the principles by which his parlia- mentary career would be guided. Mr Phillips asks for the support of the electors in a manly and spirited address, in which his opinions are clearly and openly enunciated He does not content himself with saying 4 my politics are well known to you,' but he honestly declares that having always entertained conservative principles he will con- tinue to be guided by them. He promises his support to all measures likely to be conducive to the general good of the country, and will not oppose any improvement which a change of circumstances may require. The honour and safety of the country are with him the primary considera- tion, and not a blind adherence to party; for he states that he would support any government in keeping up a strong force in the country both by sea and land—sentiments which will meet with the appro- bation of every well-wisher to our country. He is in favour of giving encouragement to the volun- teer movement, as he feels convinced that the best way of ensuring peace is to be prepared for war. This pro- gramme will be fully approved not only by the inha- bitants of Pembrokeshire, but also by the nation at large; and in the present aspect of European affairs, when kingdoms are unsettled, and foreign potentates are ac- cumulating large masses of troops vastly disproportionate to their real requirements, we think it becomes the duty of every elector to exert himself to secure the return of representatives who entertain these views, and whose general character will warrant the belief that they will be honestly and unswervingly adhered to. Mr Phillips states that, if elected, he will carefully watch over the interests of the county, and all who are acquainted with the energy and support that he has invariably afforded to all matters in any degree conducive to those interests will need no further assurance in this respect. In a local f point of view his claims are numerous, not the least of which is that his interests are identified with those of the county. He has always resided amongst us, and by the liberal disposition of his wealth and the proper exercise of the influence which the possession of large estates placcs at his command, he has been enabled steadfastly to encourage public improvement, and has had no small share in the amelioration of the condition of the poor of this neighbourhood. Of the agricultural interests in particular, he has been an extcnshc patron, and a refer- rence to the prize-lists of the various agricultural societies of the district will fully bear out our assertion. He is, unlike his opponent, (who is far advanced in years,) in the prime of life, active and energetic, and capable of enduring the fatigues of Parliamentary life; and is, moreover, connected with a long list of benefactors of by-gone days, whoso memories are universally respected, and fondly cherished among us. He has on more than one occasion exhibited his attachment to the principles of Conservatism, and believing that such principles are favoured by nearly the whole of the electors of Pem- brokeshire, we believe that he will be returned by an i'nmense majority. Of the opposition candidate we wish] to speak with becoming respect; but we must confess that we are unable to perceive what claims he can pos- sibly have now to the support of the county. He has i formed an alliance with a class of men upon whom we ( look with considerable suspicion, and an alliance which, whik it will add neither respectability nor weight to i his cause, will excite some wonder in the minds of those who recollect the faith he professed when he first became f a candidate for Parliamentary honours. What sympathy, it may be asked, can exist between the quondam Con- f servative of the Pembroke boroughs and the extreme I radicals who now rank amongst his chief supporters, and who we are led to believe are his 4 too partial friends ?' His prolonged residence in a neighbouring country may t probably have resulted in an imbibition of republican notions-lillerte, egalite, et fraternite-which have procured for him the support of the few demagogues who are ever ready to mingle in any unseemly strife. But in whatever way the union may have been accomplished, it will have but one effect, and that is to detract from his reputation, and provoke the distrust of his old and attached friends. His claims on Pembrokeshire are reduced to the smallest compass: he does not possess a foot of land in the county which he seeks to represent, and he has been absent so many years from it that we think the most astute lawyer would be puzzled to determine where he had acquired his legal settlement. The only connection which ap- pears to us to exist is the Lieutenant Colonclcy which he holds in the Pembrokeshire Militia—an office not without emolument—and the duties of which are considered as fully discharged by an attendance of a few days at the head quarters of the regiment once in three years. But even this tie may be severed if the obnoxious 4 amalga- mation is permanently effected; and the pleasant cli- mate and salubrious air of France need not then be forsaken for a moment, and the little interest he may feel in the affairs of Pembrokeshire may be lost in the greater and more powerful attractions of the city of Paris. He states in his address that 'in seeking this honour he has no ambition to gratify, and that the par- tiality of his friends has alone induced him te offer him self as a candidate.' If this announcement is made with a view to diminish the surprise which he anticipated would be felt at this bold offer on his part, wc are sorry to say that it has not accomplished its object, and even if his offer is induced by the ill advice of his friends it would in no way free him from responsibility; and we think that in this matter he will learn to his cost that, while he expressed a wholesome fear of 'rashness on the one side,' it would have been much better had he ob- served a 'standstill timidity on the other.' What we are to infer from this sentence is that h" came forward at the solicitation of his friends but we may be pardoned if we doubt the accuracy of this statement, and express the belief that this step was contemplated some time ago. It will be recollected that at the 'Indignation Meeting,' at which Mr John Owen so eloquently inveighed against the influence of Stackpole, and when a vacancy in the county representation was not anticipated, Mr Owen made several puerile attempts to injure the repntation of the then sitting member, and very significantly announced that his family were prepared to rescuc 'Pembrokeshire from those who were injuring it,' and as • they had fought many battles before, sooner than see it misrepre- sented—its interests sacrificed, either through ignorance or design, they were prepared to fight them again.' Here is the commencement of operations, and here Mr J. Owen appears as the pioneer of an intending candi- date. His conduct does not give the gallant Colonel's case the complexion he would wish it to assume it does not even look as if the solicitations of his too partial friends were wanted in the matter. We took it as an announcement that the speaker's father was once more desirous of entering upon senatorial duties, and in that light the gentleman who presided at the meeting under- stood it, for we find from the published accounts of the proceedings that the Mayor, no doubt observing the lack of modesty exhibited by Mr Owen, and with a desire to foster his ambition, very kindly made the matter a little more lucid by charitably suggesting 'that if they wanted a man to come forward, Mr Owen's father, Colonel Owen, should at once be invited.' Here it is quite plain that Col. OweR, through his agent, threw out thejitst hint—(because the matter had not been alluded to by the preceding speakers)—and if there was any invitation at all, he him- self procured it, and there was not the slightest necessity for the pressing inducements of over-partial friends. The next sentence in the address is well calculated to re- fresh our memory, and is of itself sufficient to call up abundant reasons why he should not be honoured with the confidence of the electors of Pembrokeshire. With a brevity, which is as convenient as it is remarkable, he an- nounces that my politicsarewell known to you.' Wemust confess our ignorance on this point, and we find many others in the same predicament. We remember that when he represented the Borough of Pembroke he gave his con- stituents a proof, both of his appreciation of their confi- dence and of the unsettled nature of his political senti- ments, by resigning in favour of Sir James Graham—an entire stranger to the district, and one whose career fur- nishes one of the most striking instances of political dishonesty on record, and whose return was entirely attri- butable to the influence of the house of Orielton, and not in the slightest degree to the fret and < independent' ex- ercise of the ckoice of the electors. Are we not justified in asking May not a similar event take place again, if Col. Owen is placed in a position with influence enough to accomplish it?' He remarks that he does not consider it' wisdom to resist the progress which the exigencies of the times required this 4 wise saw' has a very general application, but it has been construed by some of his sup- porters to mean progressive liberalism,'—a phrase which may be fittingly applied to describe the politics of Jack Cade or of John Frost. But looking to antecedents, (which are a far better guide than political professions,) what guarantee have the electors were Col. Owen returned— (of which there is not the remotest probability)-that he would not next resign in favour of John Bright, if, as happened upon the appeal to the country on the Chinese question, the Birmingham demagogue should chance to be deprived of his seat? He claims also, if elected an unpledged and unfettered course of action,' which we imagine amounts to nothing more or less than perfect freedom to veer round as his inclination may direct-a carte blanche to support the Government that may happen to be in power without respect to principle and to the neglect and injury of the interests of a constituency. Tergiversation is a quality which seems in some particular cases to be hereditary, and the consti- tuencies of Pembrokeshire have unfortunately been spec- tators of too frequent an exercise of it: not long ago they reluctantly witnessed the unpleasant spectacle of a professed conservative uniting with the advocates of man- hood suffrage, vote by ballot, separation of Church and State, and total extinction of the House of Lords, and contributing to the overthrow of a conservative min- istry. The conservatives of Pembrokeshire have as a body been too apathetic, and In humouring the whims of an aged representative allowed personal regard to take the place of public duty; but we feel that on this occasion we shall have no reason to complain of their conduct. We are assured that the electors will accept the candidate who makes a fair statement of political views which are in unison with their own, and will return by a large majority the staunch and consistent supporter of that great party, who by their dignified bearing and by the wisdom of their measures have obtained for Eng- land the proud pre-eminence she holds among the nations of Europe.