ScoThAN The nomination of the candidates for PerthsWre took place,

at the County Hall in Perth, on Tuesday the 29th April. Sir George Murray was proposed by Mr. J. Stuart Wortley ; whose speech is only remarkable for the following passage, in which he pointed out the different degrees of independence wally possessed by a Secretary of State and a Junior Treasury Lot d.

It a as a high honour to he selected to take office muter his Majesty's Government ; at the same time he thought, that in order to 4Io justice to the county of Perth. it per. ROO 011;;Ili to be selected its its Representative. w hose sentiments wet.. .perfectly free ii m4 unfettered. Ile knew well that it bad been objected to Sir George M array . t hat he too had been a member of an Admitdstrat . There Was a meat difl.erenee. Novel s% in the cases. Sir ticorge had never been in an office, nor would ever aceept an office, ex- cept such as gave him the right to deliberate on aiffairs or the state. ( Cries ttf " Than Ike old story!') Ile asserted that a Lord of the Treasury would not be permitted to de- liberate for himself; and he believed Mr. I;raliam would never hive acceptssl suffice, if he had not been prepared to submit his votes to his superiors, who had a right to deli- b( rate,

Mr. James Wood, farmer, late factor to Lord Mansfield, seconded the nomination of Sir George Murray.

Mr. Fox Maule then proposed Mr. Robert Graham, "of Redgorton," in what appears, from the report in the Perthshire Advertiser, to have been the best electioneering speech that was deliveted during the day. Mr. Maule claimed the support of the electors for NI r. Gra- ham, on the ground of his connexion with the Reform Ministers ; and reminded them of Sir George Murray's exertions to deprive them of that franchise whose exercise lie now so ardently solicited in his own behalf. This formed the staple of Mr. Mriule's speech, and he seems to have produced a considerable effect by it on the assembly. We do not see that he referred to acts or opinions of Mr. Graham himself, as recommending him to the Perthshire Reformers, except " his con- nexion with the Reform Government of the country, which was a war- rant to the Reformers of Perthshire that their cause was at his heart."

Mr. Marne of.Dunsimure seconded the nomination of Mr. Graham.

Sir George Murray then proceeded to address the electors. amidst great interruption ; which, indeed, he and his supporters had to en- counter during the whole of the proceedings from the Grahamites, who, if not the most numerous, appear to have been the most noisy of the two parties. Sir George expressed his attachment to the British Constitution, in rather vague and high-sounding phraseology. On the subject of Religious Freedom, he said-

11e claimed for every sect and persuasion, the full enjoyment of those opinions they might prefer in regard to religion : sod of those forms of worship whith might appear to them best fitted for carrying sm their devotional exercises. Ile claimed also that there should 1.0 no exclusion whatever from official situations on accoont of religious opinions. With reference to the qurestion at present under discussion in Parliament — the admission of flissenters into t he English Universities—he held that bee admissiuu ought to be given to all sects, as well as the membms of the Established Church.

[This extract is taken from the Whig paper, the Perthshire Adver- tiser ; we do not find any allusion to the admission of the Dissenters in the Tory journal, the Perthshire Courier.] As regarded the separation of Church and State, Sir George Mur- ray's opinions do not appear from the reports of his speech. He re- ferred to the United States, and his own conduct with regard to Canada

when he was Colonial Secretary; from which we suppose that he con- siders, that the religion of the majority should be the established one. He spoke thus of the question of Church Patronage—

Ile was clearly of ojuisuion that the voice of the people .should be heard in the nomi- nation of their minister ; and no one should. be thrust upon it parish who was not se. ceptuble to the majority of the hearers.

He talked rather loosely on the Corn-laws, Game-laws, and Combh- nations of Workmen.

with regard to the Carn-laws, he thought that no intrusion should be allowed to take place on our home industry. and that all classes itt this country should be fairly protected in the first place. Ile [night say a few words on what might be considered local grievances. 'the Game-law s were entirely so; but the subject slid not call for further remarks on his part. With regard to that important subject, the estithlishrneut of Boards of Tratle, for the purpose of putting a stop to those (panels and heartburn- ings which were now so common betwixt masters and their Men. for annihilating an strikes, and for meaning a fair remeneration for labour to all classes of matittfact ming labourers.—he would just say that the object was extremely good, and he bad no doubt practicable, because the plan hall beeu adopted iu Paisley for a considerable time past, with the most eminent success.

Ile strongly insisted on his own independence and liberal politics.

Ile hail no hesitation in saying. that he should be a perfectly iodpisaaaaa Represen- tative. Ile disclaimed the possessiou of those strong party feelings which had that day been ascribed to him. Ile lila/0111 not seek to put slowu one piny for the purpose of mat:ingrown for another ; but should pursue an entitely inikpendent hal. of conduct — neither pledged to support a party nor to oppose the Government. 'Flue gentleman who had put Mr. Graham in no:oblation, hail talked of the Earl of Ortnelie being raised to a hiyht r bratiell of the Legislature. It might. perhaps, be the highest in reek ; hut it was Dot the highest in his estimation. ((heers anti hisses.) Ile was willing to ad- vocate the support of that branch of the constitution; but he would never admit that it was higher itt the scale of importanee than the Representation of the People.

Mr. Graham then spoke. Ile solicited the suffrages of the electors as " a friend and supporter of the present Government." He proceeded to mention the number of good measures for which the country was indebted to that Government, especially the great work of Reform ; and asked,

Who had retarded the proregg of improvement ? (Cries of " Geordie Murray.") Who lait, the friends of Sir 1:sioree klurray,—bitns,•If the foremost in opposing the Re- form Bill in all its stages.--thal grand means, through which alone measures of im- provement could be worked out. Every. Reformer, thin, should rally round the

51:11111a111 is hitch opposed him, and should j with hand and heart to prevent the chance of his return to impose further sharkles on the progress of Reform. Ile called on them to look at the names of the individuals who had lirst presented his gallant opponent to their indite on this occasion as a candidate. ant say whether they had not cause to dread any proposal mu hick originated with them,—and say whether those were the men hey would ,elect as fellow-workers in carrying through the purposes of the Reform Bill.

Ile referred to the taunt which had been thrown out against him of being the indiscriminate supporter of Government, and said that his hands were not tied by his acceptance of office.

Ile considered the prs•sent Administration the most liberal, the most enlightened, the purest, awl the tho,d esmsistent Administration which had existed in their day; and while that diameter cunt haled ;0 be justly applicable to them, they shoalul have his general support, whet her he miss iii IJOSSCSSiOn Or office or not. Ile should not hesitate to sliffer fouia t heal 011 SlIbieet: or real importance. if his owl judgment led bins to do so ; and if he must act against them in a form which was objectionable in an official p..rsint, lie sleethl pr..vent the recurrence of that injustice to them, and free himself from any eltance or future embarrassment, by resigning tuis plaCe. lit the event of any in- compatibility arising between his official duties and those wide,' he might incur by beitig placed by them in Parliament, they might rest assured that be should not IleSi• tate a niseueut in holding the latter ditties to be paramount. M. did not, however. anti- cipott• //1.5 Ileela OW' fur Ise Was a real supporter of the mit.ciples or the Reform Bill, which that Governineut was bound to uphold.

Ile dirlined promising any thing with regard to Church Patronage; though he took " a liberal view of the subject."

Ile acknowledged the grievance, and was of opinion that it ought to be retriss.:.:'i, as S0011 as possible. That SOMc change was desirable, cannot admit of a &alb; ..hat Ila; that S:aialt1 he, it was difficult to &hombre. Ile thought it was a hardship to have a clerg. man thrust upon a parish, without an opportunity being ,;,-iven to the pal ishismers -to say 011e ws,n1 for or against him. How th:s was to be emedied was matter of detail but remedied it ought to be. There was at present a Committee of the I fole‘o of Commons sitting on this subject, lie should have liked to have seen their rersut before corning to a decided opittiott ; but he had no hesitation in acknow- ledging the grunt grievauce, and he vs ould willingly go a must liberal length in redressing it, (,( His °Pinions as to the Corn-laws appeared to coincide with those of his opponent. Ile did not think that the present Corn-laws did much harni. With respect to the Game-laws, he said, that Gatne preservation was a great grievance in some parts of the country; and that it miss tutu use in landlords to manage their game so as to bring such mil consequences on their tenants; and he would be ready at all times to lend his best support to get this evil removed.

IVe do not find that Mr. Graham referred directly to any other topic, or that he gave his opinions on any specific measure now before Parlia- ment.

After a spirited address from Mr. Kinloch of Kinloch in behalf of the It'llig candidate, the proceedings were adjourned to Thursday.

In reference to the nomiration day, the Perthshire Advertiser says- " Throughout the whole proceedings, an intense interest was displayed by tire general body of the electors, and of the assetnblage, for the success of the Liberal eaUSe; and we heartily congratulate onr readers on the favourable augury which the whole afforshsl, that the desperate efforts of the Tories will utterly fair in preventing Bs triumph."

But the Dundee Advertiser, though also supporting Mr. Graham as preferable on the whole to Sir George Murray, observes on the con- trary, that

The audience, on the day of nomination, was a mere handful, compared to that hich assembled When Font Ormelie was nominated. The Volunteer bands of music who graced the last occasion, out of devotion to the Liberal CallSe, were not to be son or heard on Tuesd ry last ; and almost all the other demonstrations of popular favour towards Lord Ornielie were wanting on the present occasion."

The polling commenced on Thursday morning, at seven different polling-stations ; and at the close of that day, the numbers were—

Fur Sir George Murray 1179

Mr. (indium 10:1I Majority for Murray 148

On Friday, Sir George's majority was increased ; and at the close of the poll, the numbers stood thus— [We have a few remarks to make on the result of this election. The readers of the Spectator may remember, that several weeks ago, When the t .vo candidates first announced themselves, and when Mr. Graham's Mends exulted in what they deemed the almost certain issue of the contest in hie favour, we stated our impression that the men of Perthshire would not have much reason to congratulate themselves in the success of the nominee of Mr. Jeffrey. We also expressed our disgust at the barefaced manner in which the representation of a great and important county WaS to be jobbed for a scat at the Treasury board. There was nothing in Mr. Graham's personal qualities, as contrasted with those of his opponent, which served to make us forget or forgive the circumstances under which he became a candidate for Perthshire. Belonging to a profession in which a man of his connexion WAS sure to have an opportunity of displaying talent, if gifted with any, Mr. Graham always; retnained unnoticed. In former days, when a sub-Tory placeman, he did not render himself sufficiently useful to be promoted. On the other ha:ul, Si r George Al urrey was known as an active, clever man of Int- siliess, by no means disPosed to adhere to the exploded dogmas of Tory- ; and, setting politics akide, there could be no question as to which of the ITInlidates would be of most value to the Perthshire constituency in the House of Commons. But it was not to be expected that politics weahl be set aside, or that Sir George Murray would be liked by the Befermers of Scotland ; and we were told by some of our correspon- dents in the North, that the tone of our remarks would be more pre- judicial, locally, than we seemed to be aware of. The remonstrance was repeated and urged with as much earnestness as if the whole election, and, far greater, the interests of Liberalism, depended on the Spectator's opinion ! We of course thought this an extremely exaggerated notion of the influence of journalism : but at the same time, not being at all desirous of aiding, ever so minutely, in the restora- titre of the old Tory dominion in Perthshire, as we could not consvien- tiously speak in favour of Mr. Graham, we held our peace. Now, however, that the election is over, we reiterate our opinion of the mditness of the defeated candidate to occupy the place he aspired to. It appears from his speech on the day of nomination, that he would have been a mere Government man—a representative of the Whig Ministers

i a Perthshire, instead of a representative of Perthshire in the House of Commons. No wonder that there was no excitement in his favour. Ile does not seem to have committed himself to a single Liberal senti- ment, or promised to support any measure, except such as Earl Grey's

heteroectwous Cabinet," as the Times terms it, would sanction As he would have owed his return almost exclusively to Government in- thience, so on all occasions he would have conducted himself in Parha- m eit with a view to promote the interests of the Government partisans, cut those of the constituency at large.

These reasons are sufficiene to justify the electors in rejecting Mr. Graham ; but, as we learn from the following letter of a correspondent who has opportunities of knowing the state of parties and of public feeling in Perthshire; there were others quite as potent at work.

"Mv DEAR SeEccavon—As, in common with other friends of freedom, you must.

deulit. lie disappointed at the result of the late contest for the representation of Perthshire, you will, perlinps. permit an old friend and Radical elector it 111e minty to point out the more immediate causes which have given for a tine. a triumph to Toryism in this quarter ; and to show that the result has not been causea ii i.11 of the p aiple to returns to the principles of that factiou which so Ions re'cned paranionnt here.

"1 Iv first great cause of Sir George Min ray being returned IR, the Corn-laws. And [Ids I make ont in the following manner. A great majority of the constituency are nil or pmprietors or farmers. ni,,n who derive their subsistence from land. Nine.

boa Its of the proprietors awe Tories ; I as I wo think of I he tenants hold their farms by leases taken on the faith of that law which was to keep is heat at or above atts. a quarter. they are ahnost all raek.rented. In this way the teuants are too much at the merry or eir landlords ; most of at horn have hitherto refused any permanent abatement of rut to num who have bunk cousiderable sums in improving their farms, awl are well Totowa to be paying every year a portion of their rents out of their capital ! Soule finie before the ennui y was vacant, an association was formed by the leading 'furies of the county, with Committees in every district, nominally for the protiseion of agri- culture, in reality to forward any object of the party : and no sooner was it known that there wab lo be an election, than the signal was given from headhunters. nail every Committee was set to work, whipping and spurning to gain over the farmers ; promises were liberally dealt in, anal where these did not succetsk threats and intimi• dation were resorted to. Government was also declared to be inhuical to I lie agrir ul. terist, end ready at any time to sacrifice his interest for the advantage of the manu. I:winters. In many cases, pert:anent abatements of tent were offered. and its some accepted. as the price of voting tic the Tory candidate; and when any independent num refused to sell his lirth-right. he was informed that old arrears might still he claimed, and warned that he had no indulgence to expect in time coming, larimis harmers, oat being asked to vote for the Liberal candidate, avowed that, however much thy were inclined to do so, they dared not, without. to a tertainty. injuring their prospects and ruining their families; and ended by wishing that they had never received votes, as their having done so placed them in a situation destructive to their independence. To this must be added, that. although there are Sonic holunnable exceptions. the farmers are for the ntost part extremely ill.informed !in pditical subjects. From what lots been statist, it follows, that had tad Government mittensh the farmers to promise extravagant rents on the faith of high prices being seemed to them through the intervention of the Corn laws, the farmers of Perthshire would have been in a very diffiTent situation—rents and prices would long since have been adjusted, and they would have been enabled to act a more independent part ns the late struggle. " Other circumstances, no doubt. contributed to Graham's defeat ; which may be slimmed up in a very few words. First. The most disgraceful means were used to gain over the ten-pound votes in the villages. Bribery, indirect and °them ise, was resorted to; and it must be added, a lamentable want of principle was etineed by some of them. whose circumstanees ought to have placed them above temptation. Secondly, The appointment of the candidate to the Treasury lost a number of volt's; to which may lay added, that his mantars are nut repossessing, and he is little known in the comity except as as relative of laird Lynedoch. Many Reformers did net think he went tar enDiNiholid kept aloof. indifferent as to who should gain the day ; foolishly, as they thereby Aided the cause of a man whom the Tories believe tube opposed to all reform, and injured the candidate whose principles, to a certain extent, agreed with their own. " The result of this election has already made many converts to the Ballot, and communal thinking men, that, without secret voting or disfranchising the farmers, the cause of independence must, for a time, be its abeyance in Perthshire. and the Tories can put iu any man who will best forward their views by opposing the cause of the jample. G. K."

The latter part of this communication confirms us in the opinion, that Sir George Murray is quite as much to be trusted as Mr. Graham. On the recent division on the Pension-list, at all events Sir George could have done no worse, had he been in Parliament, than vote, as Mr. Jeffrey, Mr. Graham's patron voted, with Sir Robert Peel and the Tortes.

Sir George Murray is too shrewd a man to run (venter to publie Opinion for long together. His speeches are of at more Liberal tendetwy than Mr. Graham's. He must be aware, that at any future election the Reformers may rally and unseat him. He depends upon his own conduct mainly for future support, and will be the more likely on that account to suit tin independent constituency. We hope he will leave off it certain canting manner, which ill befits a man const•iuus of voting with sincerity, hot which Sir George is too apt to assume when desirous of crewing an impression by a set speech.

On the %thole, then, we trust that the Perthshire constituem•y will look well after their Member, hearieg his Liberal professions con- stantly fir mind, and never letting him rest should he act as if they were were words of course.]