The Express.
London, England, 1847-03-18 00:00:00

ELECTORAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

Berkshire has eese;tialeii;int; to be regarded as an
aristocratic county ; and as such we may expect to find it
much controlled by influences generally antagonistic to
absolute freedom of election. There is some reason to fear
that the local causes which have impressed this character
upon it are precisely of that class, the most calculated to im-
pede the progress of the only remedial treatment which
could be applied to such influences. The multiplication of
small freeholds in land is not likely to be facilitated by the
great landed proprietors. As the favoured seat of our
Sovereign's residence, Berlin, has naturally become the
fashionable retreat or settlement of many of the principal
officers of the Crown, of the members of the Royal Household,
and of Courtiers of more than one reign. These are not the
sort of ommtry gentlemen who would congratulate themselves
on the settling down in the vicinity of their demesnes of a
small yeoman farmery, or proprieta7, substantial enough to
have purchased the freeholds of their own occupation. The
county aristocracy of which we speak would rather bid them
"God speed ." to any other neighbourhood than greet them
on having planted themselves in their own. Nor do we at-
tribute this feeling of suspicion and dislike, sato any such infu-
sion of " new blood" into the legion of land-owners,--to the
leaders of MN party alone. The fume jealousy of an inter-
ference with what great landlords complacently term their
"legitimate iafinenee," which would be manifested by a
Brayhrooke—wonld be at last as intelligible demonstrated
by a Radnor. It is a clue antipathy, not an individual pre-
judice. From &glimpse we have bad of the estimated increase
of house and tenement freeholds within the last three

yeas, we can augur little or no effective operation from
that warm, at the next general election, on the compact and
powerful array of the landed gentry, who are the sworn and
devoted adherents to the canter-naive party and its princi-
ples of anti-progreas. The whole arrival of this increase in
house freehold, has been very small in Berks. In old and
New Windsor, it is strangely inadequate te the scale on
which we should have supposed, ci priori, the ratio aro-
/reel would be in tosnisheps, sheltered under the very wings
of royalty. In Beading, Maidenhead, and Newbury, a few
recruits may, perchance, be found, on closing the next re-
gistration for the ranks of the liberals. But, unless the
electors of Berkshire, who are already enrolled in these
ranks, will direst themselves of their old habit of being dic-
tated to, by a generous union of means and exertions in the
cause they profess to support, even at such a sacrifice of
money, if necessary, as that with which the " League" has
achieved, as we understand, a decidedly preponderating
influence in Surrey, f r example ; they must be content in
the coming contest to be once more handed over to
the old domination of their Tory managers or masters.
It is not at all wonderful that Barks should have become
the beat of such an influence, from other causes besides
those even which we have above indicated. Its extreme
salubrity, and the beauty of its winery, have long since
fixed among its permanent landowner, a considerable body
of country gentlemen, some of them of ancient descent, and
many, to their credit be it spoken (though we wish there
were more of these), alive to the importance of the elective
I franchise. There is 'till, notwithstanding what we have
premised of the apathy of others, a class of smaller free-
holders in this county, composed of substantial farmers,
masters, and others, who usuary manifest • healthful ex-
daemon ea to the parties who shall be returned to represent
them in parliament. A vigorous supervision of the registry,
nth as we allude to, might have turned this element to ex-
cellent account. Berkshire being one of the great thorough-
fares, as it were, to the principal midland counties, and the
west of England, may be supposed to impress its own feel-
ings and opinions very much on the neighbourim portions of
the constituencies of Backs, Wilts, and Hampshire.
Measured from east to west, or from the boundaries of
Wiltshire between Hungerford and Lambourn to Old
Windsor near the Thames, its length is only 43 mites ; and
from north to south, from the banks of the Thames, (north-
west of Oxfordshire) to the confines of Hants near Newbury i
its breadth does not exceed 31 miles. The irregularity of its
figure permits, however, in some parts a larger line to he I
laid over it both in breadth and length. It is sufficient for
our present purpose to say, that its superficies is an area of
about 754 square miles, or 482.560 square acres. The county
comprises 20 hundreds, 3 parliamentary boroughs. and 12
market towns, including the very important ones of Reading,
Abingdon, Hungerford, Maidenhead, Newbury, Walling
ford and Windsor. Ore of the staple commodities in these
busy markets in excellent malt, of which the county supplies I
large quantities to the London market. It also raise, a
valuable breed of cart-hones, and a very superior race or
pigs. A'Shough it has a few coarse manufactures that are
still in favour, as booker and sail cloths, tarpaulins, ropes,
mats, ffc. ; Berke is specially an agricultural county. In that
character it ranks as the 14th among the shires of England.
It 1., in parts, magnificently timbered, and to this day con-
tains some of the finest growths of osk and beech timber
trees that are to be found in this section of the island. Its
agricultural productiveness has been, of late years, most ad-
vantageously developed under the enterprising su-
perintendence of some of the moat intelligent practical
agriculturists of our time. The " White Ilorse
Vale " is a district, whose natural fertility is
perhaps not surpassed even by that of the Vale of Ailes-
bury or the neighbouring county of Bucks. As few testa can
lead us to more accurate criterions touching the ratio of
progress, or civil improvement in a given district, than the
examination of its contributors to the exigencies of society
and of the state, at various period, of its past history ; we
may add these statistics. In 1806, the total amount of in-
come aseessed to the property-tax for the whole couuty, was
1,220,352/. The average scale of poor-rates for three yeas.
ending 1806, bad been, within a fraction, .sn. in the pound.
In 1801, the amount of poor-rate levied in Berke, was
87,994/. ; population being 109,215. in 1811, rate, 180;431;
population, 118,277. In 1821, rate, 104,3381.; population,
131,917. In 1831, rate, 118,0701. ; population, 14-5,380. In
1841, rate, 0.5,1031.; population, 160,226. In 1803, accord-
ing to Mr. R•cknian's tables, the poor rate raised 96,866.
This statement satisfactorily shows a great relative diminu-
I tion of the pr-rate, reseed being had to the fact of the
I population having increased between the two extreme
periods of the series by 36,144, the amount of rate levied
in the latest years referred to, was less by 1,7631. than it
had been in the earliege
. - . . .. .

On the passing of the Reform Act, Berkshire received
the accession of one member to her county representation,
three being accorded to her in place of two; and thus
she was compensated for the loss of the only member
withdrawn from her,—namely, one out of the two formerly
returned by Wallingford. Now considering all the aristo-
cratic influences that so especially exist in this county,
we are bound to assume that its elective franchise must have
been exercised upon the whole with tolerable fairness, when
we find it emerging thus unscathed from the reform ordeal
of 1831-32. But we must also conclude, on the other hand,
and with whatever degree of reluctance, that if there had
been little of direct bribery to trace in the history of its pre•
lions elections, that may have been the consequence of its
having been through so long a period, as it still
is, and without some such decisive re& stance and
counterpoise as we have spoken of, will continue to b' even
at the next election subjected tothe overwhelming influence
of a few peers and wealthy commoners. Thirty years ago it
was universally known that Lord Braybrooke and the Earl
Craven enjoyed so preponderating an influence from their
noble properties in this county, that it were useless to attempt
to contest its representation against any nominee whom
they might have determeol to support. A hasty inspection
of the county histories and old poll-books will show that a
large majority of the immediate ancestors of the now resident
nobility and gentry were then among the freeholders of this
constituency. Among these notables we still remark the
titled houses of the noblemen lust named, with those of
Radnor. Gardner, Abingdon, Downshire, Falkland, Fal-
mouth, Limerick, Sawn, Godolphin, Sidmouth, &c. Of
baronets there are Aubrey, Fremantle, Verney, Dukinfield,
Clayton, Bowyer, Fleetwood. James, &e. and of other
landed gentry the families of Blackstone, Bolden], Dundee,
Palmer, Cooper, and a roll-rent longer than we can insert. In
fine, Berke isa pregnant instance of the necessity which exists
for rallying small freeholders to the vigilant care and inde-
pendent exercise of that great constitutional privilege
which electors in a higher grade of society. are but too apt
to forego from indolence, or to make subservient to the mere
private purposes of family connexions and their aggrandise-
ment. At thelastgeneml election there were but 5,708 electors
on the county registry ; and ley the last return (for 1846), their
number was only 5,192; a marvellous falling off in the space
of five abort years, or less. The independent constituency
can have only themselves to blame if they deem, at any
time, that their triple representation is still a one-sided one.
The interest of the parliamentary Ligtory of this county
dates rather from a period subsequent to the Reform Act,
than from any anterior one, notwithstanding the entries to
be found on the Commons journals relative to returns
for Berks. The election of Mr. Walter in 1832, and the
subsequent county elections with which that gentleman
was connected, can scarcely fail to be fresh in
the recollection of our readers. The three gen-
tlemen, who were returned without • contest, at
the last general election for this county are ell of them
Conservatives, and had been returned at the preceding
election in 1837 by the following numbers respectively,
namely, Mr. Robert Palmer, 2.554 ; Lord Barrington,
2,350; Mr. Pasey, 2,300 (C. East, Esq., the defeated can-
didate, polled 1,392). From the year 1670 down to 1832,
there do not occur many entries on the journals of sufficient
interest to warrant their quotation at any length ; never-
theless, there are among others two which show that
the right of a peer to contest the election of a knight
of the shire was not at that day disputed, even when
most emphatically propounded on the part of such
peer. October, 1678, we find a petition of Henry
Alexander, Earl of Stirling, against the return of William
Barker, Esq. ; and in May, 1685, the same nobleman peti-
tions against the return of Richard Southby, Esq. A
speedily following dissolution of parliament seems to have
disposed of the former of these petitions ; of the latter we
have no subsequent notice whatever. In May, 1689, the year
following the revolution, Richard Neville, Esq., petitions
the house, setting forth that at the then recent election far
Berke, himself and Sir Henry Winchcombe had been duly
elected but that the Sheriff hail unlawfully returned Sir
Hater', Foster. instead of petitioner, together with
said Sir Henry Winchcombe. In April, 1690, the majority
of the freeholders of this county set forth in their
petition that Lord Norreys and Sir 'II. Foster had
been, in the February preceding " fairly" elected; hut that
the sheriff had substituted in his return Sir H. Winshcombe
indeed of Lord Norreys. On October 2 following, Mr.
Neville having renewed his petition, it was, with the others,
referred to a oommittee for trial. On December 22, it was
reported to the house that there had appeared no witness to
support the allegations of the majority of the county free-
holder., whose petition was thereupon rejected, and the coins
mittee passed a vote finding that Sir Humfrey Foster had
been duly elected.
One of the most remarkable elections for Berkshire upon
record is certainly that of 1820, when Mr. Hallett, one of the
candidates, kept the po'l open for fifteen days. His two
antagonists were returned, the one by 1,084, the other by
1,055 votes. Mr. Hallett's gross poll was 132 votes; to
realise which aggregate he actually kept the poll open for
fifteen days.
On a renew of all the ciecumstanees thus touched upon,
we confess that we see but little chances of the next general
election emancipating the county from the species of pre-
scriptive dictation which an aristocratic influence, more
powerful than the meaning and spirit of the Reform Bill,
hoe been so long enabled to exercise in the matter of its
elections. But there is another influence lately planted in
the county from which we anticipate, at a not much
more distant period, that enlightening and im-
proving action in Berke which sooner or later It
is certain to diffuse over the whole face of the
United Kingdom. Beaks is traversed from east to west by
one of the greatest and most important of those railway ar-
teries which sustain the moral and social circulation of this
empire between its great heart, the metropolis, and the most
remote of its extremities at our outposts, harbours. ele. The
mere winking of this crest machinery of locomotion must,
ere long, have its usual effect, in bringing the men of Berke
into such constant personal correspondence with their

brother constituent. of other cvuntiee, that they will betake
themselves, in earnest, to the work of vindica tins the reality
of their elective franchise by the independen no and sound
judgment wherewith they will feel called upow to exercise it
in all future times. Z.

POOR LAW LETTERS, No. 6.—SETIIR.MENTS.
Sir,—ln considering hitherto the different classes
of poor, and bow they ought to be relieved, we have come, I
hope, to the conclusion, that the 43rd of Elisabeth woo right
after all; that the sick and old should have relief at home,
and that the able-bodied should be set to work.
Next in importance to the law of relief comes the law of
settlement; and next to that, or rather involved and inter-
woven with it, the law of rating.
The Poor Removal Act of last session bas stirred these
questions strongly throughout the country, and we may
be sure that another change, for better or worse, is at hand.
Taking settlement by itself no question can be clearer in
principle. It is hardly the case of an institution once good,
but now superannuated. It must have been bad always,
though worse in the present state of this country than it ever
was before. The law of settlement is noticed by Adam
orestntctioonf
Eungponiishindliubrayatry,;an.ddabisieln:
gulSimarithexucepatiobietrtbaro the genius
Mel-
thus, viewing it in the same light, considered settlements as
in themselves condemnatory of a poor-law, being. according
to the opinion of hie day, an essential part of thakinstitution.
The opinion, however, of oar day is tending rapidly to a
different conclusion—more and more, indeed, against 'mettle-
meat, but also more and more in favour of a poor-law, and
waist settlement, even berauss of its injurious isterfareare
with the working as poor-Inw.
Some people bay.'.,ew sedan that settlement gives to
every poor man a home, whereas it only confines him to
his home, upon pain Of lowing it altogether, or of being
every now and then sent back to it a prisoner, under a ma-
gistrate's warrants.
The old parochial system of England is dear to a people
whose national life revolves not round the centre of govern-
ment, but round the countless local and municipal
centres in which practical Saxon manhood is trained
for the business of the world. The New Poor-law
offended It first in nothing so much as in the liberties it
took with parish independence. But let not the vices of a
system be cont.unded with its virtues. Settlement is a relict
of serfdom far out of its latitude—A scripti glebes in the
realms of steam ! You tell the labourers of England they
must maintain themselves, and have thrown open to them
at last the market of food. Is an open market of labour
less tenurial to them ? Lem essential to everybody ? Let
anything in any nation be in bondage, rather than its
industry. It is known to all men that in England, span
and time have been removed out of the way of all Ist and
2nd clan passengers why not also out of the way of the
3rd and 4th ? It will Improve your traffic, 0 king. They
count by 'Millen', and want non cushions of wind or wire to
ride upon. Shut up landlords in their parishes, and some
good might come of it, but let the descendants of Garth go free.
While settlements are retained, removals cannot be got
rid of. Yet removals are growing more unpopular every
day. Get rid of settlements, and you get rid at once of the
most intricate, perplexed, and vexations title of our laws,
together with 100,0001. worth of litigation per annum, by
which the suitors profit nothing, while they are hunting
the poor like malefactors from township to township. Get
rid of settlements (and suppose for a moment the poor an
"imperial burden"), and a mass of local jealousies
are extinguished ; great proprietors no longer have an
interest in depopulating their territories; labour dis-
tributes itself natitrally according to the economist's
golden rule of supply and demand, and a labouring
man " coming to inhabit" is a welcome guest, instead of a
plunderer in disguise to be driven forth by overseers and
constables. A comic dramatist might make a ludicrousfaree
out of a melancholy reality, by depicting the 10,000 parishes
of England playing at battledore and shuttlecock with their
labouring poor under the name of chargeable paupers.
Whatever the result of such a game from year to year to
particular districts, it is certain the nation can gain nothing
either in wealth or character. The interest of the nation is
to turn all its labour to account, and to disbribute all its
burdens ax fairly as possible accordlpg to Property ; and it is
irnpoesib's these ends can be answered by the lottery of set-
tlements, removals, and appeals.
It must be admitted, however, that in the present political
temper of England, any bail law, its badness once under-
stood, would at once be repealed, if simple repeal were all,
and no collateral inconvenience apprehended. But the law
of settlement involves a grent question of finance, the rain-
ing and disbursing of no leas than six millions a year ! And
this, we may predict, will be the key of the position and chief
point of contention.
If the poor were free to go where they would, towns and
favourite districts might occasionally be inundated, as was
the case before the 13 & 14 Chas. 2, e. 12, which first au-
thorised the removal of poor person" " likely to be
chargeable," and laid the foundation of the whole
incubus of settlement and removal law. Never-
theless, the poor ought to be free to go where they will, and
the state, which will profit most by a free circulation of
labour, ought to pay something for a white emancipation act.
But as local administration must be retained, if the state
paid all, the unions and parishes would relax in their
stewardship, and might even think the more they got out of
the public purse the better. And this is the actual appre-
hension of prsrtical men; this the dilemma which is pro-
bably at this moment under the consideration of the Com-
mons committee. Is there no way out of it? Settlement'
to be abolished, parishes to he protected against undue bur-
dens, yet local management retained, together with local in-
terest in good management. I venture to suggest the
following as the basis of a treaty upon this question between
the state and the parishes of England
Let the average cost of the poor for the Isat seven years
(say five millions) be apportioned rateably among the pa-
rishes, as the " establishment charges " of the unions now
are; and let such apportionment stand fixed for another term
of years. Then let each parish maintain all the poor within
it without distinction ; but let the excess of expenditure (if
any) above the apportioned amount, be repaid yearly by the
Treasury, subject to the accounts being passed by a govern-
ment auditor. I think this plan would effectually secure as
much vigilance es now in guardians and overseers, while it
also protected the parishes from inequality of pressure, and
from overpowering inroads of paupers. It is for those who
object to such comprimise, and who would either lay the
whole burden upon the Treasury, or leave the whole burden
upon the parishes, to say how, in the first ease, they would
provide against profusion, and hew, in the second, they
would get rid of settlements.—Tainuovii.

SOTER'S CHEAP F0011).—M. Sayer has forwarded
for publication some more receipts for making cheap food.
It will be seen that the suggestion of • certain duke, which
caused some time ago a great deal of amusement, has not
been wholly overlooked—one of the ingredients in the last
of M. Soyer's receipts is " curry powder:"
Ramer No. d.—Soma's somismso anon FOOD roe Lawr.—
Put two ounce. of butter or oil into • two gallon and • half stesrpm.
peel two ounces of mien., out thin, put them on the are till tightly
brown (stirring it now and then), and half • pound of selectable., u
turnips, leeks, celery, carrots, ae. ; do not peel them or throw away
anything except that part which may be decayed, hut wash
them well, cut them in • slanting direction, put them In
the stewpan, and fry ten minutes longer ; put In •
and a quarter of per, Ell up with two gallons of watts ; let rid -
mar for three Mors, or till the per are In a plaids pod
▪ oatmeal with • pint of water, make it lon gaol.,
into the masers% stirring it with • opens; ail err Nest,
half an ounes of lawn iuw, boil It ten mks*" awl It le reedy for
• ; a little oast, hey-leaf, thyme, mrshastk rotor savory,
In gemilltim is as elm noshing
the you In ma water. *mg Is enure:,
deprived of animal mistimes, the thelmeeous inerw
dents will est iP orory ca lesstre organs, pare-
cularly to • Mims* which hos sabred from want of food.
Renter,
_NO. l—Tss Prormsx's Pot, Pie riga Oner Cut four
pounds of fresh rh dow IS* la biro pier; put It In your pan,
with threeoullitel• of sr.lareaea.o awe, • little pepper, two'
bar leave* a tltfehim; or grit et goer sad let it stew gently ;
ms one Found ofmtmesl with mem "efts ethkewarrn water, and
pour It over the fiat ; stir ft goofte so so hit to Irak it too mach;
let it boll twenty mbritee ima Itto dor • psi Irv* or dried salt
fish, prwriotalr maked, to eisseihrly psi to make this
food ; but omit the salt if all lan Ish Is mi. &erne Rico Pro.—
Aseiiir saved the bones of the a.e, day, a very geed
food may be made ao Pillows • ire siz pounds ci Mork
which break Into wnall pima, sir tioll la ten ears of waver, he
four hours having added three mmess emit, a mil bgmbetlle,
hay-leaf, end =Tory. Put WM aMawim Inc is or hi; bra
pound of vegetables as carrot; turnips. seitwitos., rat very thin ;
half an ounce el sort. Put It ca flat hot hr Moor outs% stirring
It semoinnally ; ball pinged et mimed, mbt wen; moisten
with two earns of the stook from the bones ; W orood-o-qoarter
pound of rice, porously unshod ; boil till Maim, and ors
Pun—Pat Ines slorps• or cars. • morn Ira of bay-
Imr. throe, and weeny ; two emir if soradso• wet a quarter-
pound of fat, three motes et mit. mad time of sugar, and
Pry for fifteen minutes. PM ens of fit*. Mil her quarts of
water, and boil till tender : sidas sums et sorry powder, mixed in
a little water. Cut up Mu pore of ire he Into pieces the sine of
an ego; add to the above, MY bell br or thirty minntea,
In to the kind of Ad Snit and dries previonely soaked,
co▪
oked In this way, is excellent, omitting the salt.

THE CROPS IN JERSEY.—Tie appearance of the
potato crop, planted seven or eight weeks ago, gives no indi-
cation at present of disease ; and, whatever the result may
be, the early planted crops stand a leas chance of ultimate
injury than those now being set. In 1846 the potato blight
made its appearance about the 24th of July; in 1846, about
the sth of July, and, as far as Jersey is concerned, the
disease was less virulent during the past year than it was in
1845. Parsnips are th;s veer more extensively cultivated
than hitherto, and certainly they are by far the beet sub-
stitute for potatoes. The young Wheat looks well, although,
in parts of the island, the last two nights' frost has given it
a yellowish tinge; the plant is, nevertheless, healthy, and
there is every indication of an early and prolific harvest.—
Jersey Times.

COMMERCIAL 8r MARKETS.
MONEY MARKET & CITY INTELLIGENCE.
TIO(f-past Two o'(lack.—Soon after the commence-
went of business, the heavy tendency of affairs became appa-
rent in the decline of prices below the depressed rates
which still ruled at the don of the market yes-
terday. Consols stood at 881 to 1 only for money,
and MI to I for time. As the reports varied about
the probable action of the Bank Directors in the mat-
ter of rasing the rates of interest, so Consols fluctuated
between those rates and a shade higher. As two
o'clock drew near, the result et the deliberations
in the Bank parlour being usually made pub-
lic, or transpiring, shortly afterwards, Cowell; became
more firm, and the quetatims for account reached