The Express.
London, England, 1849-04-30 00:00:00

eld sores being healed over, there was a substantial
coalition @gaunt Mr. Russell. The result was favour-
, able to the Gauss, though by very narrow mojorities:
the numbers being—
For Talfourd
Reran 448
and the conservative being consequently rejected by a
majority of only 9, Mr. Respell presented a petition
against this return on various grounds, calculating,
probably, ma the oiled which would be occasioned by
its expenses. He proceeded to a scrutiny which
proved protracted, and entailed heavy costs upon
Mr. Palmer, but which terminated by the committee
ng that gentleman to have been duly elected.
this was a most expensive election,
though both sections of the liberal party s'rove
te tender it pecuniarily as light as they could to
melt of their candidates, and a portion of Mr. Pril-
mar's expenses were defrayed by subscription. On
He ether side, however, there was far less regard to
=.2indeed, Reading has usually been a more
borough to the tOl4Oll than to the liberals,
Wnii;" the absence of bribery, can generally
win, as we shall have occasion by and by to
show.
The Russell party having assisted to return Ser-
pent Weird in 1833, f. lt much aggrieved at the
'petition between his friends and those of Mr. Palmer,
which had ended in the ejection of their own represen-
lative in 1837. A conservative association was orga-
nised, and the tories determined, whenever an oppor-
tunity presented itself, to use their utmost exertions
to oust Serjeant Talfourd. As it tamed out, this was
eaeeedingly unfortunate for this gentleman. In 1839
the then Solicitor-General, Sir It. IL Rolfe, was ele-
vated to the beach. The whig government in those
days could not afford to be beaten at an election.
Had Serjeant Talfourd's seat for Reading been
mews he might probably have been Solicitor-
Geserel, but the Writs let it be clearly understood
that they should oppose his re .ladies with all
their strength, and as Sertearit Talfourd was by no
means safe, the Solicitor-Generalship was conferred
upon Sir Thomas Wilde. In 1841 there was
another vacancy by Lord Campbell'. appointment
to the Lord Chancellorship of Ireland, and Sir
Thomas Wilde's elevation to the post of Attorney-
Omani Here again &dant Talrd might have
.feud
in. But there was then less prospect thee
of re-election for Reading, so the appoint-
ment was not filled up during the short remainder
el the term of Lord Melbourne's administration.
When Lord John Remelt returned to power in 1848
Sedeent Talfourd was not in parliament at all, and the
eppeistnients both of Attorney and Solicitor paged to
ease members of the same profession.
lime conservatives, in order to carry out their
threat against the sitting members. brought forward
la 1841 the Viscount Chelsea, eldest son of Earl
Dadogan, as a candidate with Mr. Rummell. Via-
smut Chelsea's local influence may be traced to his
asentsion with the Doke of Wellington, who is a
resident landowner of Berke, and with whom the
noble viscount is connected by the double tie of affinity
and marriage. The liberals at this election were
unable to obtain any local candidate.. They mew
guently sought for men in London, and through the
instrumentality of a solicitor in Chancery-lane, were
introduced to Mr. Thomas Mills, and Mr. William
Tooke, of Russell-square, who commenced a maws
at Reading with, es they believed, every probability
that, at least, the first would be returned. Mr. Mills
spent his mousy very freely and fought the
battle with an evident intention to succeed as well
as with apparent confidence in his success. Those
conservatives, however, who were behind the curtain
knew, as the day of election drew near at hand, that
the liberal calculations were undermined. It was a
period of much agricultural excitement on the subject
of the corn law. Reading is one of our largest mar-
ket towns, and with a large number of the trades-
=farmers necessarily have great influence.
bad been quietly taken to induce the
farmers, at their market ordinaries, to sign a requisi-
tion to the tradesmen of the town to vote for Russell
and Lord Chelsea, and it was known that, in come-
pence of this round-robin, a large number—say
a hundred—of the moderate whip, would refrain
from voting in favour of the liberals. Besides this,
the corrupt voters were well bought up, at heavy
prices, andever
ything was made secure. All these
I:duenessagainst the liberals upon the poll.
There voted—

--
For Mr. limarall 676
Visenant Chelsea
Mr. Mills 409
Hr. Tooke 396

being the largest majority the tories had ever been
able to moue in Reading. Against this return a peti-
tion was presented, signed by Mr. Mills. It alleged
" gross bribery anilercosroZon" on the pad of both the
sitting members, , and also by their agents.
It set forth that Foss, extensive, and systematic
bribery and corruption were practised and carried on
by divers persons, with a view to their return, and
that their retain was procured by such means,"—and
it therefore prayed that the election might be declared
null and void; bat, in order that no ease of retalia-
tion might be gone into, it refrained from praying for
the seat.
[The proceedings on this petition, with their re-
sults, we shall consider in another article.]