The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1868-05-16 00:00:00

MR. JOHN MITCHELL ON FENIANISM.

DECIDED AT LAST.

A FIENDISH CONSPIRACY.

One of the most horrible conspiracies that we have ever
heard of had Its denouement yesterday says a New Albany
paper . Some ten days ago six men, two of whom we do
not mention, for the reason that they have not been arrested
—the other four, named Hughes, Kenney, Buck, and Burkett,
and a seventh named Collier, entered into a written con-
spiracy to wreck and rob the pay train oil the Jetfenionville
Railroad. The particulars of this conspiracy, as near as we
eon gather them, are about as follows :
A written agreement was drawn up, setting forth
the plan of the robbery. This plan contemplated the
throwing of the pay train from the track at a point
near Slate Gut, some ten miles out from Jeffersonville;
the mounter, if necessary, of all those upon the train;
and the robbery of the paymaster's safe of its content;
which it was thought would be from twenty-five to
thirty thousand dollars. The articles of agreement was
of the most terrible character. It bound eadm con-
spirator to commit murder as well as robbery. It also
stipulated that if any of the conspirators were
wounded in the affair so as to be unable to get away
his companions were to kill him, and thus put it out of
his power to inform against thesis. It was further
agreed how the money was to be divided, the share of
each being specified. The train was to be thrown from
the track by removing or loosening one or more of the
rails. It was also agreed that if there were more
than the usual number of peso ma with the train,
that the conspirators were to fire upon and kill
: them just as the train was reaching the place
where it was to be wrecked. The details of the
whole affair were set forth in the most concise
and distinct manner. The seventh conspirator
mentioned above, Collier, it seems, became frightened
I at the crime contemplated, and gave information of the
conspiracy to the superintendent of the road, Horace
Scott, Esq. It was at once determined to send out the
i pay train on the usual day, and to width it a baggage
car, in which several well-armed anti courageous men
' were to be placed, prepared and instructed to shoot
down the conspirators at sight. Burkett, one of the
conspirators, was a breaksrnan on the train, and when
the baggage Mr was hitched on Monday night he
became alarmed, and immediately informed his con-
spirators what had been done, and they, fearing they
would be over-matched in numbers, abandoned the
conspiracy. It is proper to say that the con-
spirators had solemnly sworn to kill any of their
number who might betray the plot. Fortunately, the
human nature of one of them revolted at the horror :
he gave infommtion of the plot, and a wholesale murder
and robbery was thus prevented. Yesterday forenoon,
Hughes (whose parents are very respectable, and live
at Bedford), Kinney, Buck, Burkett, and Collier were
arrested at Jeffersonville—the latter to be held ant a
witness. The officers were after the other two, and
they are probably by this time arrested.

THE REFORM ACT OF BM
(From The Times, Tuesday, May 12.)
Politicians are eagerly speculating upon the pro-
babilities of a general election. At the present crisis,
therefore, the influence of the Reform Act to accelerate
or retard such an event 'woollies a question of especial
interest. When will the momentous statute of last
year for the amendment of the representation come
into operation? What is the earliest time at which
there could be an appeal to the new constituencies?
There appears to be some controversy on these im-
portant points, but when we examine the language of
the Act itself the answer seems plain and free from
doubt. The future electoral body is as yet in embryo,
and it will pass an infancy of several months, and conic
of full age on the Ist of January, 1869. The electoral
lists are settled every year in September or October,
and the Reform Act expressly provides that the first
registration of new voters shall not be made
until 1868. Consequently, the Revising Barristers in
their circuits of last year acted under the old system,
and in the ensuing autumn they will, for the first
time, decide claims under the novel franchises. The
former Registration Acts enabled persons whose names
were on the annually revised lists to vote at any
elections which were held after the last day of Novem-
ber, but one of the sections of the recent Reform Act
provides that the register shall henceforth take effect
from the list of January in each year. The books,
duly signed and transmitted by the Revising Bar-
risters to the Clerks of the Peace in counties, and
to the Town Clerks in boroughs, are to be by them
delivered to the Sheriffs and Returning Officers in
December, "and the said book or books shall be the
register of persons entitled to vote for the county or
borough to which such register relates at any election
which takes place during the year commencing on the
first slay of January next after such register is made."
It is therefore obvious that there can be no ap-
peal to the enlarged constituencies until 18611.
It is equally cies,: hat the redistribution of seats
cannot take effect till that time. A section which was
interpolated at a late stage of the progress of the Bill
through Parliament enacts that in the event of a Disso-
lution before January 1, 1869,—" Each election shall
take place in the same manner in all respects as if no
alteration had been made by this Act in the franchises
of electors, or in the places authorised to return a mem-
ber or members to serve in Parliament, with this ex-
ception—that the boroughs by this Act disfranchised
shall not be entitled to return members to serve in any
such new Parliament." We may therefore safely con-
clude that, if a Disodution occurred during the present
year, the appeal would be made to the old constituen-
cies exclusively, unless by special legislation the period
of bringing the new franchises into operation were ac-
celerated.

The doubts which have arisen on this subject are
due to a want of uniformity in the language of the
Act. It is exceseively ill-drawn, and the original
defects of expression have been aggravated 'by a
number of iuturpolations and alterations effected by
various hands. Rarely, if ever, has a Bill been 110
utterly changed in its course through Parliament. The
last edition differs 40 widely from the first as to be
essentially a new measure. Unfortunately, so much
of the original was retained as to make the final result
a very inartistic piece of patchwork. The incoherency
of diction is especially observable with respect to the
very question now before us. Thus, in the part re-
lating to the distribution of seats, it is provided that
"from and after the end of this present Parliament"
certain boroughs shall cease to return more than one '
member, and certain counties shall be divided for
electoral purposes. Take these sections by themselves,
and it would follow that the new arrangement of seats
must take effect at the next general election, even
though it occurred in 1868. But then we have the
clause to which attention has been drawn—the 60th—
which declares in the most positive terms that, "not-
withstanding anything in this Act contained," no such
changes shall operate before the Ist of January, 1869.
There can be no doubt that an express direction of this
kind must prevail against the conflicting but less
peremptory regulations previously laid down. So,
again, there is an ambiguity in the clauses defining the
new franchise. They are now prefaced with the words,
"Every man shall in and after the year 1868 be entitled
to be registered as a voter, and when registered to
vote," &e. To vote when? According to the gram-
matical construction, in and after the year 1868. But
this interpretation is plainly repugnant to theprovisions
about the formation of the new register and the time
when it shall take effect. We are therefore forced to
conclude that the words "in and after the year 186$"
refer only to the time of registration, and not to the
time of voting. The words are interpolated. They do
not occur in the Bill either as originally produced or
as amended in Conunittee of the House of Commons;
and they have evidently been slipped into the wrong
place by somebody better versed in politics than in
A question of subordinate, but still of considerable
importance with reference to the effect of an immediate
Dissolution relates to voting in "three-cornered" con-
stituencies. The novel principle is expressed with a
brevity which is really remarkable :—" At a contested
election for any county or borough represented by three
members, no person shall vote for more than two
members." That is aIL It is needless to observe that
those words were never penned by an ordinary Parlia-
mentary draughtsman. Surely, never was more
matter compressed into three lines in an Act of Par-
liament? The conciseness is not, it must be confessed,
very felicitous in the present instance, for it leaves us
uninformed as to the time when the regulation is to
come into operation. To what period does the word
"shall," in this clause, relate? If to all future
elections the representation of minorities may take
effect even in the present year. With respect:, how-
ever, to the new three-cornered constituencies the
question does not arise, for, beyond all dispute, they
will not be entitled to their additional members until
1869. But there are already under the old system
eight county divisions which have each three members.
It is very material to ascertain whether, if a Diassolu-
Con occurred at the present time, the minority clause
would be enforced in these districts. The correct
answer appears to be that they remain under the old
rigiste until next January. The 60th section says that
the "franchises of electors" shall remain unaltered
until that date. But the right of voting for the third
member is part of the franchise, and if the elector
were restricted to two votes there would be a diminu-
tion of his electoral power. Consequently, it seems
safe to conclude that the intention of the Legislature
to suspend the general operation of the Reform Act
has been effectually expressed. Of course, it is within
the competence of the present Parliament to abridge
the period of suspense, and to put the new franchises
in force more speedily than the existing law would
allow. It might be determined, for instance, either to
appoint an earlier time for registration, or to dispense
pro Mr rice with some of its formalities. The great
statute of 1832 for the amendment of the representa-
tion furnishes an illustrious precedent for such a
course. That enactment contained several directions
of a temporary nature; among others, it provided for
the contingency of a Dissolution before the first
electoral lists could be completed. In that case the
necessity of registration was to be dispensed with, and
everybody was to have a vote if otherwise qualified
under the Act. There can be no insuperable difficulty
in repeating now what was done in 1832. If at that
time it was practicable to give the ten-pound house-
holders, then newly enfranchised, a right to take part
in elections even before they were registered, there
could not be any greater difficulty in conceding the
similar privilege at the present time to the rated house-
holders in towns, and the twelve-pound householders
and five-pound copyholders in counties. Registration
is one of the most admirable parts of the electoral
machinery, but that it is not absolutely indispensable
appears from the circumstance that for several centu-
ries the people of England managed their representa-
tive system without it. We are not here discussing
the question of expediency, or inquring whether the
present emergency justifies a departure from the ordi-
nary practice of the last thirty-five years respecting
the registration of voters. It is sufficient for the
present to note the technical aspects of the subject.
The discussion of our present political elifficiAties will
be considerably simplified by a consideration that Par-
liament has at least the Constitutional power of deal-
ing with them. The Legislature may, if it please,
enable the Executive to make a speedy appeal to the
new constituencies.

A CABMAN'S COMPLAINT.
Touching the late rig(' in fares, and the working of W;
namela, that the higher the tariff of farec (ha higher
the charge for cabs by proprietors.

Ws 'ard lines with us poor dear rabbits:—
111-used and hintiocent as babbles !
Now tizzy fares to bobs is risen,
Poor Cabby finds the bobs aint Mien.
We made ourselves so precious busy
TiU 'Ardy rose that brutes tizzy !
The party as we wished might get it
Was him as drew the cab, not let it.
We thought, aces we made the fuss,
In course, the tizzy'd be for us;
But—it's enough to wen a saint—
We find that now it's come, it aim.
All tint—if we'd known we'd hems quieter—
Goes to the blessed proper-ietor.
They've clapped it on four-wheel and shots!.
Till what we pays is something wofid !
We can't 'arts rummy, nor yet love:
Drirero Blest if we are !—We're dna !--Punch.