The Express.
London, England, 1853-12-03 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, SATURDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 3, 1853

tattoo of the county constituency to register, in the
following manner ?

The cause we believe to be that persons did not apply to
be registered for county votes because, in most cues, the
county franchise was merely romisial, and it is not worth
while to obtain a right which the holder is not really per-
mitted to exercise. (Times.)

Here is the Times suddenly, without a word of in-
troduction, coming round to the very reasoning by
which we hese before proved that the borough
franchise can only be taken away from the towns
and given to the counties with the utmost danger
to the constitution. We recalled a distinction
I first drawn by Lord DURILUI, that if some of the
boroughs were " rotten," nearly all the counties
were "close." The voters in the "rotten" boroughs
were corrupt because they had votes to sell ; the
voters in the "close" counties could not be
proved to be corrupt because they had no votes
to sell. Intimidation in the counties does away
with the necessity of bribery. And the Times,
acknowledging this fully—confessing the feet
that "the county franchise is merely nominal"—that
the voters feel "it is not worth while to obtain a right
which the holder is not really permitted to exer-
cise," still advocates measures that will result in the
absorption of the boroughs into the counties. And
the only goal that it desires to reach by travelling
this masy road—the only advantage it seeks as the
reward for all this tergiversation—the only compen-
sation it desires for swallowing all this dirt, is the

non-extension of tho franchise, the non-admission of
the fire-pound voters. Truly, after these desperate
attempts to withstand this measure of reform, real
Reformers will begin to think that there is more
good in it than even they themselves anticipated.

LATEST FROM ABROAD.

PRUSSIA.

BERLIN, Nov. 30.

Count Schwerin, the former President of the
Second Chamber, has been re-elected by 136 votes
spinet 123, given to Prince Hobcnlohe.

PORTUGAL.

MADRID, Nov. 23.

The Spanish government has received a despatch
from Lisbon, announcing the probability that the
Portuguese government will in a few days proclaim
the Prince Royal of age.

RUSSIA AND TURKEY.

An official telegraphic despatch from Czernovitz,
dated Noy. 26, states that the Russian third army
corps, under Osten-Sacken, is hastening in forced
marches to the Principalities, and that preparations
for its reception were being made in Bessarabia.

JASSY, Nov. 21.
The Russian Consnlate•General at Bucharest and
the Consulate at Jassy have been dissolved, there
being no longer a national government to which they
can be accredited. Baron Budberg, the Russian
Governor of Moldo-Wallachia, is expected here every
day on his way to Bucharest.

BUCHAREST, Nov. 19.

All the Professors of the Gymnasiums have bean
summoned before the Ephorie by order of Prince
Gortschakoff, and ordered to caution their young
men not to talk of politics. An infraction of this
order will lead to the closing of all these institutions.

Prince Gortschakoff has ordered that several thou-
sand bullock carts be got ready to transport the sick
soldiers to Tekutich.

SWEDEN.

STOCKHOLM, Nov. 24.

The King of Sweden has declared to his Diet that
"a complete system of military and naval defence
is imperatively necessary to enable it to maintain its
independence." His Majesty mentioned only gene-
rally the " state of Europe," but there is no doubt
that he was thinking of the recent concentration of
Russian forces on his frontier.