The Express.
London, England, 1848-12-08 00:00:00

OUR REPRESENTATIVE SYSTEM,

all wore the ooknre of one or other of the cacelidates:
and so hot was the contest that not one of them bad
time to say a word to him. Mr. North began a can-
vass at St. Leonard's, where hie great strength lay
formerly. There were a'anut 90 voters in the district he
took &stand out of the 90 he found 9 who would split
with him. Mr. North went home exceedingly ill that
evening. He found that be was forgotten in Hut-
age, and soon atter he tried to forget it himself by
quitting its balmy shore for a still milder and mae
genial climate.
Memo. Pleats and Hollond succeeded, and Mr.
Briscoe was beaten. The contest, however, was a
close one, and the cost very considerable. The num-
bers were : for Planta, 401; Hollond, 382 ; Briscoe,
312. The cost is said to have been 1,600/. to Mr.
Plants, and between 4,0001. and 6,0001. to Mr. Hol-
lond. In 1812 Messrs. Planta and Helloed were
re-elected without opposition. Mr. Hollond had
by that time acquired a " local interest" in the borough
which it was impossible to oppose ; and, in 1841,
there were " reasons " why snob a constituency es
Hastings should re-elect Mr. Planta, which he did
not fail to suggest, and which the reader probably
will understand.
In case any one should not clearly see them, we
propose hereafter to explain more fully the particulars
of that matter, as well as the remarkable events of
the last election.

IRELAND.

DuBLIN, um 7.
Another arrest was made on the Sth of December,
at Clonmel. A man named Sexton, who was eluding
custody. ventured home on that day, and was
instantly made amenable. All those parties captured
at the late night assemblage at the Wilderness, at
Clonmel, have been admitted to bail.
Mr. Duffy's trial excites much attention. The me-
morial against the exclusion of Roman Catholics
from the jury panel is rapidly receiving signatures.
Many protestant gentlemen have signed it, end among
them are Lord Cloncurry, Mr. W. S. Crawford, and
Mr. H. Grattan. The journals this morning contain
a long notice from Mr. Duffy, in which he sets forth
the course pursued towards him in the producing
against him so many several charges in several bills
at each commission, and the harassing transfer of his
custody from city to county sheriff and the contrary.
It is said that the crown will read against Mr. Duffy,
and as evidence, those articles sometime since inserted
in a London paper from the @oppressed Nation ; anti
that they are in possession of a portion of the manu-
script, which they expect to prove to be in Mr.
Duffy's handwriting.
Saunders's News Letter—a very discreet authority—
gives currency this morning to the following re-
markable rumour :
It was very confidently stated yesterday that the govern-
ment have it in contemplation, soon titer the sitting of
parliament, I. introduce a bill which shall virtually have
the effect of removing most of the equity business of this
country to We4minsterthall. There is no doubt that ques-
tions as to how the measure would work have been submit-
ted to the legal authorities; and it is even said that some
answers favourable to the project have been returned. It
is scarcely necessary to observe, that if the measure
should be carriedinto effect it would be most injurious to
this city, and indeed the evil remits which would accompany
the removal, or even partial removal, of the business of the
courts are toe easy to calculate.
The Freeman's Journal thus alludes to the same
rumour :
It was mentioned yesterday, in the office of one of the
Masters of Chancery, that a ball to transter the superior
courts of Ireland to London had been prepared, and would
be Draught in at en early period in the ensuing seraion. It
is said that many legal officials have expressed a bear.y ap-
proval of this project, which is designed to strip this Country
not only of the right of home judicature, but practically of
the memos of obtaining justice.
Tie following is the verdict of the coroner's jury,
which sat on the body of one of the sufferers by the
late dreadful catastrophe on board the Londonderry
steamer :
We find that death was caused by suffocation, in con•
sequence of the gross negligence and total want of the usual
and nr csssary caution on the part of the captain, Alexander
Johnston, Richard Huge*, first mate, and :lint= Crawford,
second mate ; and we therefore find them guilty of " Mahe
slaughter ;" and we further consider it our duty to
express in the strongest terms our abhorrence of the
inhuman conduct of the remainder of the seamen on board
on th • melancholy occasion ; and the jury beg to call the ate
tention of propriet .n of steamboats to the urges- necessity
of introducing some more effectual mode of ventilation in the
steerage, and also affording better accommodation to the
poem class of passengers.
The following is from the Freeman's Journal :
We have correspondence from Derry, otr the fearful steam-
boat tragedy, up to Tuesday evening. On that day the
ill-
fated emigrants who perished in the holds of the London-
decry were being interred. The inquest was still proceeding,
and pending the investigation we feel ourselves bound to
abstain from the comment which our indignation prompts
us to make. The appalling spectacle has produced great ex-
citement among the populace. Some of the p:occcdinge,
too, have given deep offence. It has been stated ee us that
among the jury swam were ,few members of the steam-boat
company to whom the Londonderry belonged. The mate
was taken out of custody end produced as a witness : this
also has given great dissatisfaction. It is stated that the
males or after cabin was nearly empty, there being at the
most only three penults in it.
The Belfast News Letter published on Tuesday
says:
Nearly all the steerage paesengers on this most five voyage
were poor farmers from the neighbourhood of Sligo and Bale
lina, and their families ; there were about an equal number
of males and females, and a considerable proportion of chile
dean, many of whom are now left fatherless and motherless.
Among the survivors are three little children, saved out of es
family of nine. It is almost unnecessary to say that all these
passengers were miserably poor, many of them half naked.