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.FFRAINC.

GROEG.

YSPAEN A CHILL

ZEALAND NEWYDD.

INDIA.

Y DDIR PR W T AST Hi YMCHWILIOL…

TO THE INDEPENDENT

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TO THE INDEPENDENT ELEOTORS Of the Borough of Brecon, and the Town of Llywel. GENTLEMEN, —The lamented death of your late Member, Colonel Lloyd Vaughan Watkius, has created not only a vacancy in the representation of your Borough, but a void in the ranks of true, honest, and consistent Liberals the first must be filled, the second ought to be. You will, in a few days, be called upon by your Sovereign to elect a burgess to represent you in Parliament; it rests with you to T ake choice of a gentleman who shall worthily follow in the footsteps of him who served you so long and so well. I hive waited with considerable interest, but hitherto-in vain, hoping that a gentleman of local influence and of advanced liberal principles would 'ome forward to seek your suffrages; neither of the candidates now before the electors is prepared to advocate measures that would have hau tne hearty support of your late respected Member; and, finmlv believing that neither of the addresses already issued contains & programme suitable to the wishes of the great majority of the Inde- pendent Electors of the Borough of Brecon, or the wants of the period in which we live, I beg most respectfully to offer myself as a candidate for the honour of representing my native town in Parliament. The important question of Parliamentary Reform is likely to occupy the. attention of the Legislature rtt its next sitting. I should be fully prepared to support a comprehensive and liberal measure— such a measure as is now justl. demanded by the intelligence, and improved m >ral and social con- dition of the industrious Classes of this country. The elective franchise should be at least so exten- ded as to embrace a six pound rental in Boroughs, and, in addition to all other qualifications, to a ten pound rental in the Counties. This, in my opin- ion, should be the minimum of extension in any measure of Parliamentary Reform to be acceptable to the gtaet majority of the best portion of the people, and to he ot permanent advantage to the institutions of the country. I would also support a Well defined Educational franchise—one that would onable a large number of educated professional men; that useful and intelligent class engaged in training &ur youth those engaged in offices of trust in our mercantile establishments, and a very consider- able number of our intelligent artisans, who may not be householders, to have a voice in the elec- tion of those who become the Legislators of our I would heartily support the BALLOT as a mea- sure absolutely necessary for the purity of elections in this country;—the Ballot can do no injury to the rich and influential voter, but it may be a protec- tion to him who is dependent upon another for his daily bread, but has a vote and » conscience, and would like to give the former according to the dictates of the latter. The Redistribution of Parliamentary Seats ought to be a prominent feature in the next Reform Bill; the-great-changes that have taken place in the lo cation of the people of the United Kingdom since the year 1832 renders thia a necessity demanded by equity and justice; a wise and fair proposal for effecting this object should, therefore, have my hearty support. I would give my cordial aid to a policy of Non- intervention in the affairs of other nations and I believe the time has come when disputes between nations should be submitted to arbitration in the first place, and that an appeal to the sword should be the last resource. I would give my honest support to the present Government, while maintaining the principles of a wise neutrality, by which it has carried our coun- try safely through the perils of the Polish, Danish, and American crises, without impairing our na- tional dignity or influence, The Commercial Policy of the present Govern- ment, in the able hands of Mr. Gladstone, approves itself to every thinking man who has the prosper- ity of the nation at heart and the further developement of the resources of the country in the same directions shall have my warmest assistance. I would also earnestly wish a still further reduc- tion in our military, naval, and home expenditure, which I firmly believe can be effected consistently with the honour, strength, and influence of the country. Having had twenty years praetioal experienea in the working of the Friendly SooittHM *f this country, it shall be my eonstant oarl to watch ovot- the interests of these important institutioni, and to guard against any undue restriction. bting put upon these creations of the working men o this kingdom. I sh!J:-ll also do what I can to promote a change in the Registrar's Office, so as to give practical effect to. the generous intentions of the Legislature in affording every facility to place these Societies and their accumulated funds under the protection of the law of the land, in a manner, consistent with the growing intelli- gence of the working classes of the United Kingdom, who are the great support of these important and fist-increasing institutions. In Ecclesiastical matters I am a Nonconformist, and believe t at the religion of Christ was not in. tended by its Divine Founder to be allied with, or to become an engine of the State, and that true re- ligion would he greatly benefited hy being freed 11 from all state patronage and control. I would, therefore, while firmly maintaining vested rights, and duly respecting the interests of all living per- sons, and whilst cherishing the most cordial feeling of regard and respect towards the Episcopal Church, as one of the Christian communities of our land, gladly support a measure for the total emancipation of the Church from the State, firmly believing that this would prove an act of lasting blessing to the Episcopal Church itself, and a simple measure of justice to the other religious bodies of this kingdom. The Church-rate Question will have the early attention of Parliament; the experience of the last fifteen yeats, and the futile efforts made to effect a compromise, have fully convinced me that the total and unconditional abolition of the tax is the only true and practical solution of the question I should therefore vote for the total and immediate abolition of Church-rates. I should give my vote for any measure having for its object the opening of our National Univer. sities to the youth of the country, without respect to creed or party. I would do all in my power to promote a Com- mittee of Enquiry into the working of the Estab- lished Church and Endowed Schools in Wales, with a view-of ascertaining the amount of pro- vision it has made, or is now making, for the spiritual wants of the people and the education of the children of the poor; the effect of ap- pointing into high offices those who do not understand the language of the people, the evil of alienating the revenues of the Establishment from the poor churches in Wales for the purpose of the aggrandizement of richer churches else- where; and whether the Establishment in Wales has answered the purpose of its being, and it it has brought forth fruit commensurate with the large sums drawn hy it from the taxes of the country. I should be fully prepared to do all in my power to co-operate with the leading men of the Princi- pality in obtaining from the Government of the day a fair and equitable distribution of the edu- cational grants for Wales t,) Schools that are free and unsectari,m, It is full time that the Non- conformists in the Principality should be fairly and honestly dealt with in the matter of Edii- cation. Gentlemen,—I have thus briefly indicated some of the important suhjects that will have the at- tention of the present Parliament; should my views coincide with your own, I respectfully solicit your independent support at the forth- coming election; and, should it be your pleasure to honour me with the important trust of repre- senting you in the House of Commons, I pledge myseif to do so honestly, faithfully, and to the best of my abilities and I shall strive to do all that can be fairly expected from your Member for the interest of the County of my birth, and the Borough in which I spent some of the happiest of my early years. I have the honour to remain, Gentlemen, Your faithful and obedient Servant, THOMAS PRICE. Rose Cottage, Aberdare, Dec. 19th, 1865.

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