(From the _John Bull_ Newspaper, of August 18th, 1833.)
"SIR JOHN CAMPBELL, the Solicitor-General, has 'put his foot
into it,' as the old wives have it.
"It seems that Sir JOHN--a most unpopular man at best--has
been for some time getting out of the good graces of his
supporters at Dudley, by having, upon every occasion, voted
with Ministers, which, as Solicitor-General, appears to us
to be nothing more than might be expected; not so, however,
because he had publicly and repeatedly pledged himself to his
constituents _to do no such thing_.
"Although Sir JOHN--we speak advisedly--has not the remotest
chance of being again returned for Dudley, he felt that he
ought to do something to brush up his radical friends there,
and accordingly decided upon attacking the characters of the
Magistrates acting for the town and neighbourhood. As it turns
out, nothing could have been more unjust, and as it will turn
out, nothing so foolish.
"The population of the circle of four miles, of which Dudley
is the central point, exceeds one hundred thousand; and if
the purest integrity, patience of investigation, strict
impartiality, and Christian lenity, are requisite for the
Bench, these qualifications the Dudley Magistrates in an
eminent degree possess.
"In making an enquiry of Lord ALTHORP whether Government
intended to grant charters to the new boroughs, Sir JOHN
CAMPBELL stated that no place more needed one than Dudley;
'for,' said he, '_the people have no voice in the election
of their Magistrates. Justice is not administered to the
satisfaction of the public; serious discontent prevails there,
and the Magistrates are such as in their absence I should not
like to describe._'
"It is by no means difficult to point out the party to whom the
administration of justice in Dudley is not satisfactory. Some
time since, a considerable number of the friends and supporters
of Sir JOHN CAMPBELL, who voted for him at the last election,
were brought before the Magistrates, and convicted of using
_short weights_ and _false measures_, and accordingly fined for
their rascality; others of Sir JOHN'S supporters have been in
'durance vile;' and to these, and such as these, '_justice is
not satisfactorily administered_;' and amongst these '_the most
serious discontents prevail_,' but among none else.
"Sir JOHN, not content, however, with denouncing the existing
Magistracy of the town he represents, proceeds to observe, that
there are several enlightened persons in Dudley who could,
under a new charter, administer justice _in a manner creditable
to themselves and satisfactory to the public_.
"Now let us look at some of Sir JOHN CAMPBELL'S objections to
the present Magistrates. He objects to them because they are
in trade--one being a banker, and the other two first-rate
manufacturers in independent circumstances, and employing
hundreds of hands. Sir JOHN'S friends, with two or three
exceptions, are _retail_ tradesmen who, by their education
and habits, are not qualified for the Bench, and who, through
fear of offending their customers, would not be likely to give
unprejudiced judgments.
"The next charge brought by Sir JOHN CAMPBELL against the
Magistrates is somewhat comical; he not only charges them with
being active partisans, but with being all on one side.
"Sir JOHN shews somewhat of the simpleton here. He proclaims
to the world, if the world happen to care anything about
him one way or another, that all the respectable part of
the constituency of the place he represents, is zealously
and unanimously opposed to him. Certain it is that all the
respectable portion of the population voted against Sir JOHN;
but to shew that political feeling had but a small share in
their disinclination to _him_, the very same people voted for
Mr. LITTLETON, who is also a _Whig_, and now also a _placeman_.
"One cannot wonder at Sir JOHN'S soreness, but that he should
permit it to be seen seems extremely curious--for he is a
Lawyer, and hath a reputation for 'cunninge;' yet when the
Magistrates petitioned the House of Commons on Monday, although
Mr. LITTLETON, the Secretary, and (as he says himself) _de
facto_ LORD LIEUTENANT OF IRELAND, and Sir OSWALD MOSELEY, the
Chairman of the Quarter Sessions, gave those gentlemen the
highest character, founded not only on their public conduct,
but upon their own personal knowledge, Sir JOHN CAMPBELL, would
not retract a word of what he had said, but only, as Sir OSWALD
MOSELEY observed, 'made his attack worse by his explanation.'
"This stubbornness in his calumny is easily to be accounted
for. Sir JOHN knows that his doom at Dudley is sealed, and
therefore imagines, perhaps, that it will look manly, and bold,
and patriotic, not to flinch. The effect of his venom, however,
has been rather different from what he anticipated. Addresses,
_expressive of their best thanks and high admiration of the
manner in which the Magistrates have discharged their public
duties, and preserved the public peace upon every occasion_,
have been spontaneously prepared, and are already signed by
hundreds of the Clergy, Bankers, Merchants, Manufacturers, and
Farmers. Never did there appear more unanimity in an insulted
town--insulted and libelled by its own Representative--and
never was insult more keenly felt.
"We have now shewn who the persons are whom Sir JOHN CAMPBELL
ventures to stigmatise and abuse--now let us exhibit some of
those to whom he is obliged to truckle. One case will do for
the present.
"It seems that a radical bookseller at Birmingham, of the
name of RUSSELL (no relation we believe to the BEDFORDS)
published a libel upon the Street Commissioners. Sir JOHN was
retained to move for a criminal information against him--'it
was in his vocation, _Hal_!' of course he took the _Gaus_ and
did his work. Will it be believed, that because he did this,
his constituents in Dudley write to him--to Sir JOHN the
KNIGHT--the Parliament man!--the KING'S SOLICITOR GENERAL, to
know how 'he came to do such a thing as move for a criminal
information against a libeller?'
"Will it be believed, that this Solicitor General--the
denouncer of Magistrates--the representative of independence,
wrote the following letter to Mr. SAMUEL COOKE, a small draper,
and _Chairman of a Political Union_, in his vindication against
so heavy a charge:--
_"London, 17th May, 1833._
"MY DEAR SIR,
"I was actually on the point of writing to you about
RUSSELL'S case, when I had the pleasure of receiving your
letter. I had been told that you, and many of your friends
in Dudley, were under a mistake, which I am desirous
of clearing up, in supposing this was an official or a
Government prosecution. Government has nothing to do with
it, nor had I any power or discretion respecting it. I
merely, as a private barrister, received a brief to move
the Court of King's Bench for a criminal information, and
I could not refuse the application. What I said upon the
occasion, I really do not recollect; but I was not speaking
in my own person, _or my own sentiments_. I spoke from my
brief, according to the instructions I received, as any
other gentlemen of the bar might have done. The freedom of
the press I have ever maintained, and ever will maintain.--
I remain, yours faithfully,
J. CAMPBELL.
To Mr. Cooke, Draper, Dudley.
"This is an agreeable display of the state of servility to
which the vote-hunters of the "great unwashed" are reduced.
Would it have been credited, until now, that the KING'S
SOLICITOR GENERAL could so far sacrifice his dignity of
character--or rather of the character of his office--as to
condescend to explain to a huckstering Chairman of a Political
Union, cried down by the KING'S Proclamation, how and why he
took a fee in the way of business? But the best of the joke is
to come. This very COOKE--this '_My dear Sir_' o' the KING'S
SOLICITOR GENERAL, was himself tried for a libel at Worcester,
and paid ten guineas, fine or fee, to enable his dear friend,
the KING'S SOLICITOR GENERAL, to defend him; the which proved
a useless outlay on the part of the draper, for he was, in
spite of all the talent and eloquence of his learned advocate,
CONVICTED.
"Having shewn the sort of people in Dudley with whom Sir JOHN
corresponds, we are not surprised that he should know so very
little of the respectable portion of its inhabitants. We are
inclined therefore to attribute to ignorance his conduct
towards the Magistracy, which certainly can find no other
earthly excuse."
1833. March 6th, died, John William, the First Earl of Dudley, having
been created an Earl, on September 24th, 1827. Aged 52 years.
This nobleman was a distinguished classical writer, for his letters to
the Bishop of Llandaff are replete with profound learning, and show
the evidences of a very elevated mind. He was appointed Secretary of
Foreign Affairs in Mr. Canning's Administration, and also a short time
under the Duke of Wellington's Government. The nobleman never married,
and the title became extinct.
In 1834, Mr. Jno. Campbell having so well disclosed his profound
abilities was made Solicitor General, and came down to Dudley to seek
re-election. The old Tories girt up their loins, and at once determined
to oppose "the aspiring Scotchman," for they little relished the idea
of a foreigner and a stranger "representing their old town." Mr. Thomas
Hawkes, a native of the town and an extensive glass manufacturer, a
proclaimed Moderate Reformer was selected by the Tory party to dispute
the envied seat with Sir John Campbell. Mr. Hawkes was too glad of
the opportunity of showing his zeal and ambition for those high and
distinguished honours which had so recently been showered upon Sir
John; and he was induced to contest the seat against Her Majesty's
Solicitor-General. This election was especially characteristic as being
most violent and riotous, ending in the defeat of Sir John Campbell by
a majority of 68 votes. Towards the close of the poll, (4 o'clock) when
it became evident that Sir John was beaten, a serious riot arose in
the town and it was deemed expedient by the Justices to read the Riot
Act, and send off to Birmingham for military assistance; the Dragoons
arrived in hot haste, but not before much mischief and violence had
been done to both property and persons. It was always alleged that Mr.
Foster's workmen from Shutt End began this senseless destruction of the
property of the innocent inhabitants, by tearing down the shutters of
the shops in the High Street and Market Place, and smashing the shop
windows with the same. Mr. Foster was a strenuous supporter of Sir John
Campbell, and was much chagrined at his friend's defeat. Sir John had
to make his escape from the fury of the mob by a rapid and circuitous
flight down a dark passage in Hall Street, which to this day is known
as "Campbell's Flight." The broken heads and bruised bodies of all
sorts and conditions of men on this memorable occasion, testified to
the intensity of the conflict. The soldiers were quartered upon us for
some time for this unruly piece of business.