The Express.
London, England, 1849-05-19 00:00:00

OUR REPRESENTATIVE SYSTEM

READlNG.—(Corrtneen.)
The cue which was prepared by way of defer.ce
to Mr. Mills' pethion against the sitting member,, war.
is the judgment of their agent, " highly satisfactory ;"
but when it went before conned learned in the
law they gave a very unfavourab!e opicion with
respect to it. This very much claimed the sittirg
members and their Mends. Their Reading agent
tried to keep up their opiate, but in vain. The cath
for theipetition was opened before the committee on
Friday morcing, the 29th of April, 1842. The rest
of that day was spent in proving the poll books
sad in skirmishes between the counsel. As
opened, the case for the petit ion was a
strong one. A number of instances of direct bribery,
in one case the payment of a sum of no less than 451.
for a vote, were alleged. It was also opened that the
sitting members bad clearly adopted by their own sub-
sequent declarations, bribery which had been prac-
tised in their names by other parties. There were
charges of wholesale treating at 13 public-boutts, both
before and after the teate of the writ, ann against Mr.
Respell it was specitt ally alleged that he had promised
to certain voters eligible situaions on the Great Wes-
tern Railway's the price of their suffrages. The liberals
fully calculated upon proving these charges, and
dis•placing both members; but their real object
was, if possible, to effect a compromise, whereby one
of the seats might be obtained for Mr. Mills.
This, in consequencs of the terror of the tories,
there was, apparently, not much difficulty in
accomplishing. An overture was made immediately
on the opening speech being concluded, but it dces
not appear to have come to anything. On the ascend
day, Saturday, the counsel were observed to be very
slow in their movements, and to occupy as much time
as possible in discussing minor points. " The matter
had thickened," as the liberal agent said ; and they
wanted Sunday to effect the arrangement. Accord-
ingly, on Sunday, between 3 and 4 o'clock, Mr.
Charles Saunders, the secretary of the Great West-
ern Railway Company, waited on Mr. Weedon, the
Reading solicitor for Mr. Mills, at Cooper's Hotel, in
Bouverie-street, and told him that he was commis-
sioned by Lord Chelsea and Mr. Russell to enter into
a negotiation, and that he had a carte blanche as to
the terms.

" He then suggested," says Di r. Weirdos, " that an ar-
rangement might be made, by which Mr. Mills's expenses
might be rapid him, and that a seat for some other place
might be secured to him, at the expire-, and through the
means of, Mr. Russell and Lord Chelsea, or that a coati-
derable sum of money—l think Mr. Saunders mentioned
2,0001.—might be paid to Mr. Mills, to enable him to pro-
cure a seat himself. A good deal of conversation passed be-
tween us, and my reply to him was that I was convinced
that Mr. Mills would not entertain the question of with-
drawing the petition, unless it involved one of the seats for
Reading, and that he would do nothing that his supporters
in Reading were likely to disapprove.
I again met Mr. Saunders at Mr. Hunt's, in Parliament-
' street, solicitor for the Great Western Railway Campeury, at 9
o'clock on the morning of Monday. I saw no person at that
meeting except Mr. Saunders, but there were other parties
there with whom he was in communication in another room.
I had prcvionsly drawn a sketch of an agreement which
mourned the terms of the compromise which I and Mr.
Mills were willing to assent to, and alter a good deal of con-
versation between Mr. Saunders and me, I told him that
these were the only terms that we would accede to, and I
handed him a sketch of the agreement. That agreement
was objected to in various parts by Mr. Saunders ; he went
backwards and forwards to see his friends, who were there to
assist the negotiation. Ultimately it was acceded to, and it
wen as follows :
READING ELECTION PITITTION.—IL is a-reed between
the petitioner and the sitting member as follows:
1. That the petitioner shall withdraw from the prosecution
of his petition ; and such reasons shall be assigned to the
committee as counsel on both sides shall ogres on, end the
"Wine members declared duly elected.
2. That one of the sitting members shall trustee his seat,
In such time that a new election may take place during the
I present mission ; and that both of them shall use their It-
' moat endeavours to secure the election and return of the pe-
titioner at the next election for the borough of Reading
(whether caused by such vacating, by death, advancement'
to the peerage, or any other circumstance) without oppoti-
tion, and to Induce the corservative electors of the borough
of Reading to do the same.
3. That in the event of the petitioner's election not being
effected in the Way above proposed, the sitting members will
forthwith pay 2,0001. to the petitioner.
London, May 2, 1842. C. Resset.e,
Witness, Charles A. Sounders. Casesse.
Mr. Russell's committee reported that
The circumstances which induced the sitting members
thus to give up one seat, and run the risk, deemed by Mr.
Russell himself almost a certainty, of paying 2,000/. were
1. An apprehension on the part of the counsel of the siting
members that there was great darger incurred by defending
the seats of losing them both.
2. The certainty of great expense with very great chance"
of an unfavourable Issue.
Mr. Milli and hie friends confidently believed that
under this arrangement that gentleman would be re-
turned. Mr. Russell, however, was of a contrary
opinion, and as everything depended upon the extent
to which this gentlemen could neutralise hisfriende,he
was the best judge of the probabilities. From
what is stated at the present time by the
best informed persona at Reading, there is reason to
think that Mr. Russell was right, and that the tory
y would have brought forward a candidate in
ffrtd Chelsea's stead, despite all the interest their re-
presentative could exert. But the opportunity was
not afforded. Sir Robert Peel's administration ec-
hoed Lord Chelsea the Chiltern Hundreds, and his
lordship consequently kept his seat for Reading daring
the parliament.
There is one point about this election petition which
does not appear upon the evidence before Mr.Roebeek's
committee, but about which, we fear, there is not
much doubt. The conservative attorney at Read-
ing was, an Mr. Russell stated, sanguine about the
case. He was, in fact, the only person who had the
elighteet hopes of it, but his hopes were very great.
"My own opinion," he said to the committee, " has
always been that the seats were not in danger at all.
After the consultation with counsel I told Mr. Rus-
sell that if the case were my own, and I had the
same pecuniary resources that he and my Lord
Chasm had, I should not hesitate for a moment taking
the case to en end and awaiting the result of the de-
cision of the committee ; and I say again if the cue
had been my own I should never have stopped ehort
at all." Again—
After hating got up the evidence, were you still of opinion
that there was very great expectation of maintaining the
seats for the Suing members s—l left Reading at half pest
seven on the Monday morels', in the firm belief that I
could carry the cue triumphantly through, and get a decision
ifavourable to the sitting members.
It is stated at the present day at Reading, that this
gentleman bad good grounds for hie anticipations.
There is every reason to believe that the petitioners
would have been able to prove nothing, because the
witnesses would have sworn to nothing, or rather,
would have sworn to anything. " Sir, mid a con-
servative elector to the writer, "it is a shocking
thing to say, but at that time there was scarcely a man
implicated who would not have committed any perjury
to win that day. I believe, indeed, they would sot
have thought it perjtry." If Mr. Russell and Lord
Chelsea suspected this it ie highly creditable to them
to have arranged the compromise se they did, rather
then to have kept the seat and their money.
"The noes c-at of this eleeiou to Mr. Russell the eoamit•
tee (Mr. Roebuck's) could not accurately ascertain, as the
ace wets have not pt been rendered to him. He himself
states that he he paid on account about 1,1001. or 1,2001.
The ascent of Mr. Russell says that he has had delivered to
himself, as arent of Mr. Russell, farther bills to the amount
of above 3,0001, some of which he believes are the joint
bills of Mr, Russell and Lord Chelsea.
" Lord Chelsea himself believes, as appears from his an-
ew en to the committee, that his expenses will not exceed
2,0001.
" Of the application of the whole of this money, the com-
mittee could gain no accurate Deformation. Mr. Russell,
Lord Chelsea. and their agent distinctly assert that [to their
knowledge, should have been inverted here] no part was ex-
pended in direct bribery; though it Is admitted by both
sifting members that so large a sum could not all have been
spent in legal and proper disbursements ; and their agent,
when asked as to this expenditure, and more especially
whether beer shops had been opened, defined to answer.
The °pewits agent speaks in very positive terms as to the
(Merges of treating and bribery he expected to prove.
" The gross met of the election to Mr. T. Mills was 1,6001.
"Of the expenditure of this money nothing very accurate
could be ascertained ; that any part of it was spent in direct
bribery all parties concerned in the distribution deny ; but
at the Salle time it was admitted by Mr. Mills, and also by
his agent, that much must have been spent improperly."
The total cost of this election to the tortes, including
the petition and the compromise money, if paid,
which we presume to have been the cue, could not
have been much less than 10,000/., of which Mr.
Russell paid the/ greater part. Nearly the whole of
Mr. Mills's expenses would have been covered by the
2,0001. which be was to have received.
There oozed out before Mr. Roebuck's committee
one incident connected with election expeneee at
Reading that is sufficiently amusing. It is a
laudable practice in this town, with a view,
no doubt, to enhinoe the expenditure, that
no two candidates, however closely aaso-