An appeal is now made to you to record your Votes for Mr.
Sheridan. Let us see _what claim_ Mr. Sheridan has upon our
support on the present occasion, _before_ we assist _again_
to return a man to Parliament who has so shamefully violated
his profession and principles. Was not Mr. Sheridan returned
for Dudley, at the last Election, _as a Liberal Conservative_,
of the most _independent kind_, supposed to be _above_ the
influence of any section of the Electors; and has he not,
at the dictation of a few Radicals, _invariably_ voted in
Parliament for all Radical Measures, and opposed Lord Derby's
Government to the utmost of his power? Did he not pledge
himself _to vote against the Ballot_, and has he not _voted in
favour of the Ballot_? Did he not promise to vote against the
Repeal of Church Rates (unless an equivalent was given), and
did he not vote for their total unconditional Repeal? This,
then, is the man, _on whose promises_, you are again called
upon to rely; to send to Parliament again, as an _advocate of
anything_ which his _varied_ supporters may suggest.
If, brother Conservatives, the sacred cause of Conservatism
is worth upholding in its national integrity, _reflect_,
_consider_, _and forbear_ to commit yourselves to such a
humiliating course, as to vote for a man whose _practices and
principles_ you have so often _condemned_ since he has been
in Parliament. At some future period our cause will be on the
ascent, and you will then regret _having assisted_ to hand over
the Borough of Dudley to Radicalism and Faction. Mr. Sheridan,
you are told, has _again promised_ your rash and indiscreet
leaders, that _he will this time_ support Lord Derby's
Government. How will _that new arrangement_ meet the views of
his Liberal supporters, for they _will not_ be found "_to blow
hot and cold_;" and pray ask him, what kind of Government he
will support when Lord Derby's rule is over? Why the natural
inference is (taking the past as evidence) that Mr. Sheridan
will support _any Government_ which will please _his next
best_ supporters in Dudley! He has proved himself _unstable_,
_unsettled_, and _wavering_ in his political convictions, the
"_Shuttlecock_" of any party that will promise him support; and
as such, totally unfit to represent the intelligence and wealth
of the Conservative interests; and a miserable guide for the
Radical faction.
Are you determined to belie your Conservative principles and
vote for a "_Shilley Shalley Radical_," the man who has branded
your honoured townsmen (the Bank Directors) with a breach of
that trust which many of us (as Shareholders) have placed in
their hands, in betraying to the public the state of your
private affairs? Is such an _unscrupulous Weathercock_ entitled
to the support of the Constitutional Conservatives in Dudley,
who have ever been ready to uphold and maintain, the honour of
their townsmen, and the sacred principles of Constitutional
Monarchy? _Reflect_, brother Conservatives, before you place
your sacred trusts in the hands of such _an uncertain leader_;
for _the past has proved_ his political infidelity to our cause
and interests, and your recorded votes in his favour will
assuredly prove your political inconsistency. If you cannot
conscientiously support Lord Monck, the Conservative Liberal
Candidate, then stand aloof from this _attempted unnatural_
compact; and calmly watch Mr. Sheridan's "_New Dodge_," with
a few of the young and heated Conservatives; become again,
_another evidence_ of his own falseness, and a lasting monument
of his supporters' political blindness and folly.
Ask yourselves what _political sympathy_ this man can expect at
your hands, after the broken pledges that he has committed.
Reflecting Conservatives, let not _the shade_ of our departed
Conservative chiefs _darken the path_ of the present crisis;
and God forbid that the sons of our venerated townsmen should
become the leaders and promoters of Radicalism, Inconsistency,
and Confusion; for the Voter for a Conservative Pakington, six
weeks ago, surely will not be found voting for a _nondescript_
Sheridan at this coming Election.