"Nothing extenuate, nor
Aught set down in malice."--_Shakespeare._
Brother Electors and Friends of the eastern division of the
county of Worcester, _my_ kind friend Lord Ingestre could not
do _me_ a greater kindness than that which he has now done
_me_, namely, that of addressing you in his usual eloquent,
terse, and pointed style, to introduce to you _my_ humble self,
the present candidate on the Conservative interest, and of
expressing as he has so forcibly done the political views which
_I_ entertain in common with him. _I_ am engaged, gentlemen,
as you are all of you well aware, in a most vigorous, a most
determined, and, from what _I_ hear on all sides of the county,
anything but a desperate contest. _I_ am carrying it through
with vigour, and _I_ will win if _I_ can. Gentlemen, as you
must be well aware, labour of all kinds, whether of the body
or the mind, involves considerable fatigue. That is the case
in regard to every kind of labour, but when you find a crisis
like the present at a time when from accidental circumstances
_I_ had to undergo on other grounds and for other purposes a
most severe week of mental labour, and when at the end of
that week _I_ had to commence this battle, which, from certain
reasons to which _I_ will not now further allude, required
in _my_ particular instance a tremendously oppressive amount
of energy and exertion both of body and of mind, under these
circumstances it is a great kindness on the part of _my_ friend
Lord Ingestre that he should take one half _my_ duties himself,
in stating as he has done what are _my_ personal qualifications
and _my_ political views. You all know what _my_ father's
political views are, and if you want to know _mine_, gentlemen,
they are contained in _my_ address, which has been circulated
throughout the county. But _I_ tell you that, important as _I_
consider political matters to be, at this present crisis and
in this present battle, politics with _me_ are as nothing.
_I_, however, know all electioneering dodges very well; _I_
know where _I_ am and whom _I_ am now addressing; _I_ am going
to win. But politics, as _I_ said, are now second with _me_.
_I_ am not fighting a political battle so much as one of
high-minded independence as a Worcestershire country gentleman.
God forbid that _I_ should boast of anything like an ancient
family. The _Pakington_ family have been for three hundred
years residing near here, and in the very centre of the county.
_They_ have been Worcestershire people to the backbone. _I_
am now residing near Worcester, where _I_ am endeavouring to
do _my_ duty in that station of life to which _I_ am called.
_I_ am trying in various ways to exert around _me_ that kind
of homely influence which kind and homely thoughts and actions
will always produce by whomsoever exercised. _I_, for _my_ own
part, have no ambition for Parliamentary life. If _I_ wanted a
seat in Parliament for its own sake _I_ know where to get one.
_I_ have been asked over and over again, by gentlemen of the
highest influence, to stand for this or that place, to go here
and to go there, in different parts of the country, and have
been regarded as a likely candidate for a seat in Parliament.
But _I_ have said "No, _I_ don't want to be a Parliament man,
_I_ have no desire to go to Parliament myself, but if ever
_I_ represent a place it shall be, not a town in the north or
south of England, but some town or division of a county that
has some claim upon _me_, and where _I_ have as a country
gentleman some kindly feeling entertained towards _me_ and _my_
family." These, gentlemen, are _my_ private feelings. You will
see that in the address _I_ have published _I_ have made use
of the expression "Whatever _my_ private preferences may be."
These are the circumstances to which _I_ allude. But now _I_
am ready to state briefly what are _my_ principles. _I_ need
hardly repeat that _I_ am a true Conservative, because _I_
believe true Conservatism to consist in aiding social progress
and the reparation, when necessary, of those institutions of
our country to which England owes its present greatness. As
your representative, it will be _my_ duty to support that
Government which is to give the greatest stability to the
nation at large, and the greatest amount of happiness to the
community. So far as _I_ am able to judge, the Government of
Lord Derby fulfils these requirements, and _I_ believe they
will not waver. _I_ am fighting in three different capacities.
Firstly, as the son of a Worcestershire man, _I_ won't have
two Staffordshire members; secondly, _I_ am a Conservative,
not one of the stiff old Tories of the old school. _I_ am a
Conservative of the present day, of this very hour. _I_ am
unpledged by any past political measures. As a Conservative and
as a politician _I_ should object to having another gentleman
of strong Liberal opinions to represent the agriculturists
of the Eastern Division of the county of Worcester, the
majority of whom are, _I_ believe, eminently Conservative. _I_
must, therefore, as a Conservative, strongly object to Mr.
Calthorpe. Thirdly, _I_ object to Mr. Calthorpe, and this is
_my_ strongest point of all, casting aside politics, that which
is the strongest objection _I_ feel, and which is now the key
to _my_ actions, is that _I_ am an independent man, and _I_
will not see _my_ county represented by a comparative stranger
without offering _my_ services to the electors. That is the
keystone to _my_ movements. _I_ know whom _I_ have got to deal
with. _I_ know where Mr. Calthorpe comes from. It is a matter
to _me_ of no consequence who wrote the letter requesting him
to come forward as a Candidate, but _I_ know his supporters
right and left, every one of them. Gentlemen, _I_ object to
Mr. Calthorpe coming here. He may be a Staffordshire man, or a
Warwickshire man, but he certainly is not Worcestershire. His
father, Lord Calthorpe, is a man whom all persons must respect
and justly respect. He is a friend of _my own_ father, and _I_
know him well. Mr. Calthorpe himself was a school-fellow of
_mine_, but, as he tells you himself, he has since been almost
round the globe, and _I_ have not seen so much of him as _I_
could have wished. _I_ like him personally very much, but he
appears to have picked up some very funny notions. The last
time that _I_ spoke to him he was an out-an-out no end of a
hog man, and no mistake about it; but he was then just about
starting for Timbuctoo, China, or some other distant place,
and _I_ have not seen him since. (Laughter). His property is
just of that kind that might occasion a mistake. It is situate
near the confines of Worcestershire. The bulk of it is away
from this county, and neither Lord Calthorpe nor his son have,
_I_ verily believe, so much land in the county as you can
stick your hat on. (Renewed laughter). Where does he date his
address from? Perry Hall. Where is Perry Hall? (A voice, "It is
a garden down at the bottom of the town," and great laughter).
_I_ am very glad to hear it, and if the hon. gentleman who
gave _me_ the information can tell _me_ of his own knowledge
that Mr. Calthorpe was there when he wrote his address, _my_
argument is at an end. We know where Westwood Park is, and
we know where Witley Court is, but where is Perry Hall? (A
voice, "It is Mr. Calthorpe's _villa_.") But, gentlemen, Mr.
Calthorpe's first address is a puff of smoke; it's a blind,
and he finds it is so. (A voice, "Not he.") He does. Why does
he not attend public meetings? (A voice, "He's a-coming.")
Let him come; _I_ am ready to meet him anywhere he pleases.
_I_ say that Mr. Calthorpe's first address is a sham; that he
finds it so himself, and therefore he is obliged to publish a
second, which _I_ now hold in _my_ hand. (A voice, "There's a
third coming out.") _I_ am glad to hear it; let it come. (Great
confusion.) As _I_ was saying, Mr. Calthorpe's address is all
moonshine. His friends got frightened; the views he expressed
were not satisfactory, and therefore he has published another,
stating stronger views. _I_ am a man of business, and when
_I_ write _my_ views in one letter _I_ don't write a second,
still less a third for that purpose. _My_ occupation now as
a candidate is a matter of business, and _I_ am not going to
write a second address; _I_ don't need it. Here (pointing to
his first address) are _my_ views, _my_ opinions, and all about
_myself_; _I_ don't require a second address. As _I_ said, _I_
don't enter now on political differences at all but there is
one question to which _I_ must allude. As _I_ have told you,
_I_ am playing a deep game; and with _me_ it is a determined
one. Those who know _me_ privately, and _I_ am surrounded by
kind friends, know that when _I_ make up _my_ mind as _I_
have done in this contest, _I_ carry _my_ object through if
possible, so _I_ am going on determined to fight this battle.
_I_ am fighting a good fight, and when a move is made in this
game of political chess between _me_ and _my_ adversary, be
he who he may, _I_ will meet it if _I_ can by a good move of
_my_ own. Mr. Pakington then referred to the following attack
upon him in the _Morning Advertiser_:--"Mr. Pakington, his (Mr.
Calthorpe's) opponent, is, on the contrary, a bigoted Puseyite,
and one of the most prominent partisans of the Hon. and Rev.
Mr. Liddell, in the parish of Knightsbridge." On which Mr.
Pakington, among other things, said--_I_ wish to explain that
_I_ merely resided in that parish, subscribing to the schools
and attending divine service at the church; but having now
ceased to reside there, _I_ have nothing further to do with
it, and _I_ indignantly deny the charge made. He concluded by
saying--_I_ see that some of you are getting a little fatigued,
and _I_ am tired myself. _I_ am very glad to have had this
opportunity of meeting you, and _I_ hope to do so many more
times. We cannot do so too often. As _I_ said before, _I_ will
come again if _I_ am wanted; but _I_ have duties of a like kind
elsewhere, for which duties _I_ now go to prepare. _I_ am very
much obliged to you for your kind reception.
_Note_,--The "Printer's Devil" has exhausted his stock of _I_'s.
QUERY--Why is Mr. PAKINGTON like a Peacock?--Because his _tale_
is full of I's.
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