The Express.
London, England, 1852-07-10 00:00:00

MANCHESTER.

The official declaration of the poll was made yes-
terday morning at 11 o'clock, by Mr. Barnes, the mayor,
from the front of the Town Hall. Misnumbers were:
Mr. Gibson
Mr. Bright
Mr. Loch
Captain Denman 3,969
This result was received with immense cheering, and, in
fact, the public feeling is ihveser of the new members had
been most enthusiasts@ ea the previous day during the con-
test. The excitement was most intense throughout the day,
but the hest temper was displayed. To he sure, the legal
gentlemen displayed an amount of seal on behalf of the
losing candidates, which was rather alarming, and succeeded
in carrying two electors before the magistrates for persona-
tion, who turned out to be quite innocent, and to whom
they have had to make compensation, paying to each 5/.
The majority might have been considerably increased, but
great numbers of the electors excused themselves from
voting in the afternoon on the ground that it was sufficiently
large. The attorneys on the conservative side have sent
the following notice to the mayor, and affect-to treat the
election as vitiated by the circumstance there alluded to:
"To the returning officer of the borough of Manchester.
—We, the undersigned, being two persons qualified to vote
at the present election for the borough of Manchester, do
hereby give you notice that such election is null and void,
the polling not having commenced in Ardwick ward at
eight o'clock in the forenoon of the day neat following the
day fixed for the election, and for other good and sufficient
reasons. And we hereby require and demand of you not to
make any declaration of the result of such election, nor to
execute or permit to be executed, under the common seal
of the said borough or otherwise, howsoever, any indenture
of return to the precept of the Sheriff for such election.—
Dated the 9th day of .1 uIT, at 10 o'clock in the forenoon.—
STEPHEN HILLIS ; T. I lIICIVAL BI:NTINO."
Mr. Bunting is the attorney who objected to Mr. Mark
Philips nominating one of the candidates ; and altogether
it would appear that the friends of the beaten candidates
are disposed to submit with a bad grace to their fate; but
it is probable they will hardly prosecute an objection so fri-
volous as the above, after expending a sum, currently re-
ported at about 6,0001., on this contest, with so little
justification as shown by the result. Mr. Gibeon's majority
at the last contest was only 460, whilst this year it has been
increased to 1,498, and Mr. Bright's majority is 1,211—a
fact which speaks for the increasing popularity of the hon.
gentlemen. Supposing there were no plumper', there will
have been 9,735 voters at the contest ; but, as it is known
that many persons did plump, we may safely say, perhaps,
that the number will fully reach 10,000, out of a consti-
tuency of about 12,000 persons, allowing for deaths and
diequalifications. The point upon which the election is
declared by Mews. Loch and Denman's legal agents to be
vitiated is this: The mayor's representative at the Ardwick
polling booth (Mr. Samuel Fletcher, attorney) arrived at
the booth in a state which totally incapacitated him for
exercising the functions with which he was invested, and
the proceedings had to be delayed whilst his worship ap-
pointed another deputy. If a political partisan (appointed
to represent the returning officer) by getting intoxicated
could render an election void, we should have no end to
trickery of this kind ; but it is believed that the objection is
not souad in law, and will not produce the result desired.
But if the objectiou should prove to be good in law, the
only effect would be to disgust the public, and the result of
another contest would scat the present members by a larger
majority than ever.