The Express.
London, England, 1851-07-14 00:00:00

PARLIANIENTARY COMNIITTEES.

ELECrioNCOMMITTEE.

On Saturday the members of this committee, con-
si.tlng of Mr. Liveries, chairman, Sir 11. Willoughby, Mr.
Ktrsliaw, Mr. Arkwright, and Mr. Fergus, met at the
usual hour.

James Woods, of Harwich, examined by Mr. Serjeant
Kinglake, Q.('., deposed to going to the hustings on the day
of polling for the purpose of recording his vote, at a few
minutes lwfure tour u clock, when there was a great noise
and " bully bully." Voices in the crowd cried out to the
mayor to put the bribery oath, mingled with exclamations
of " what s clock," and while this was going on a number
of persons were actively engaged in pulling the hustings
down, it being then about three and a quarter or four
minutes to four o'clock, as witness observed by the church
clock, which was about lUU yards off. Afraid that the
rafters might rattle down upon his head, witness and a
number of others, including the mayor, effected a retreat
forthwith to the outside, where there were some hundreds
of people. consisting of the lowest rabble, making a riot.
Cessesantiord by Mr. James, Q.C., for the sitting mem-
her—Dol nut delay voting until four or five minutes before
four o'clock for any particular reason. Thought it as good
for the purls.... as any other time. Had been premed by
several to vote, but told then, he should not hurry. Knew
West the barber• but did not tell hint he did not care for
either party, or that he would not vote unless he was mid.
Went to the polling booth with Bowler. About a minute
might have elapsed between the period of the poll clerk
writing his name and the hustings toppling down. The
clerk had only time to write " James Woo," but would not
swear that it was at that identical time the voice cried out,
Put the bribery oath." Hy four o'clock the major part
of the hustings was dews. Mr. Bagshawe, the present
1111.11211 CT for Ilarwich, had very mach pressed witness to
give his tote.
Mr.Abry. fanner, living neer Harwich, examined by Mr.
}indwell.—Was present at the period of polling, and it was
between three and tour minutes to four o'clock by the
church clock, when the hustings were being pulled down.
They were demolished almost instantaneously. Did not
on the declaration of the poll at the Town Hall hear any-
thing about its premature closing.
Mr. J. C. Cobhold. M.l'. for Ipswich, voted at the last
election. Left 1.01:14011 for that parpoec on the day of poll-
ing by the eleven o'clock train, and arrived at Ipswich at a
quarter ast 2 o'clock. Left Ipswich by steamer at half-
past 2 o'clock, and reached Harwich at a quarter before 4
o'clock. Immediately repaired to the hustings, holding his
watch in his hand all the way, the people telling him be
would be " too late." It then wanted a quarter to 4
o'clock by Greenwich time; but by Harwich tune about 6
minutes on his getting to the poll. Immediately after he
had recordist his vote a wene of confusion occurred, and the
beatings were deamlished, and on looking at the church
clock on his way to the Cups Hotel, he found it wanted
three minutes to 4 o'clock when some men passed him,
dragging with them the boards of the hustings, some people
also observing, " they've closed the poll before 4 o'clock.
Cross-examined by Mr. James, Q.C., as to the position
and appearance of the clock at the time.—lt had been a
custom—whether more honoured in the breach than the
observance could not say—in Harwich for many years for
the bargemen and sailors to take the materials of the
muting' down and apropriate them a. perquisites. The
minutes were marked on the clock.
Major Bowness• examined.—Deposed that he was walk-
zwith 1114 wife about RE yards front the hustings on the
ling day, when he heard some men observe. * It is not
hour o'clock, and they are pulling down the hustings."
Looked at his watch, chic hustings then being nearly down,
and it wanted four minutes to four o'clock. Looked at the
church clock, and it was the same.

1 Some reporters for the prom were then called, and con-
firmed the evidence of the preceding witneum—Were
seated in the usual place appropriated to the pre uon the-se
000iii0o4 what they were satUanly startled by the falling

Cite erpreols.

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

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rt Garrett," sa pablirled every Turley led Friday .*; la time
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meet be et tits °glee, to, Benveriheweee, by Two Vibe& ea the
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MGR WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE
Ti.a DA —Vorateg. fl. 410. Arteries" 3k. fa.
To-.101101I—Morsist& 31. Ns. .... Artemis. 35.

LONDON, MONDAY, JULY 14.

SOME time ago an action was brought, at the in-
stancy of the Board of Inland Revenue, against the
publishers of Mr. DICKENS' Household Narratire.
The board maintains that this periodical, though
published monthly, is to all intents and purposes a
newspaper, and cannot legally be published without
a stamp. The action instituted on this ground is for
the reeovery of penalties.
Before we proceed further, it may not be amiss to
remind the readers of some circumstances attendant

on the bringing of this action. It was not without
reluctance and misgivings that the Board of Inland
Revenue attacked the HoweAuld Narrative. But
the board had been attempting on the same plea to
suppress one or two publications, which resembled
that of Mr. Itlexrcs in this respect at least, that
they were published once a month, contained matter
usually found in newspapers, and were unstamped.
The proprietors and publishers naturally complained
that others were not so strictly dealt with as they
were, and pointed to the Ilintseho'd Narrative as an
example.
The board felt rather nervous. Mr. DICKENS is
rather a popular character; his !mixt-hold Norman.,
was an interesting and popular compilation; and no
one could find any offence in it. But the publica-
tions which the board had assailed had been started
to advocate certain administrative and constitutional

reforms, and it was feared that to allow a publica-
tion of a leas decided political character to escape,
would have an awkward look for government. So,
with a groan and a grimace, the board reluctantly
gave instructions to prosecute the Howe:hold Nor-

Now fur the result. On Thursday last Mr. Baron
P.% Ft 1.4 after pronouncing judgment in two or three
cases in the Court of Exchequer, intimated that the
opinion of the court was divided in the case of the
" Attorney-Genend e. Bradbury and another," and that
it must therefore stand over till next term.
Is not this a pretty account of the way in which
the press is treated in a country where every party
and faction vies with every other in professing love,
esteem, and veneration for the liberty of the press?
here we have the Board of Inland Revenue first
shaking a law for imposingeertain duties upon news-
, papers over certain periodical organs of associated
reformers, in order to terrify them into silence, next
we have the law officers of the crown instructed to
commence legal proceedings for the recovery of penal-
ties under the same law, against a publication which
even they admit to be in every respect useful and
meritorious, merely to preserve the consistency of the
Board; and then we have the Court of Exchequer,
after puzzling themselves for months to find out the
meaning of the law, so equally divided in support of
contradictory interpretations of it, that they cannot
pronounce judgment.
An unintelligible statute is enacted by the legis-
lature, and enforced by the Board of Inland Revenue,
partly to extract money from the pockets of pub-
lishers and proprietors of periodicals which contain
political news, and partly to enable government to
put down any such periodicals as they may find
troublesome to them. And yet we are asked to be-
lieve that the press in this country is free ; that the
press is cherished and upheld in its freedom; and,
above all, that whig statesmen, in or out of office,
are par excellence the champions of this free press.
The provisos in this law, difference of opinion
upon which disenables the Court of Exchequer to
pronounce judgment in the case of " the Attorney-
General a. Bradbury and another," are not the only
puzzling and inexplicable parts of it. The law im-
poses certain restrictions upon the publication of
what is called " news." But the law does not con-
descend to define what constitutes news. For aught
that appears the incidents and events of last year or
last century may be news according to the construc-
tion of the law. Again, the law imposes a certain
duty upon advertisements published in newspapers
and other periodicals. But the law does not define
what constitutes an advertisement, and often have
we known advertisement duty charged upon what
luckless editors and publishers considered were mere
matters of news.

Apart then altogether from the injustice of the'
law respecting newspaper stamps and advertisement
duty, this branch of the law is vexatious and oppres-
sive from its obscurity and confusion. It is a myste-
rious code, out of which adroit lawyers may at any
time extract materials for a rod to whip any pub-
lishers or authors who have incurred the ill-will of
a government.
Matters standing thus, it is with no small surprise
that we have heard the rumours that are abroad as
to the conduct of those members of the committee of
the house of Commons on the taxes on knowledge,
who are understood to represent the views and
wishes of government. It is reported that they arc
strenuously exerting themselves to cram down the
throat of the committee a report deprecating, or
rather denouncing, any change in the law imposing
taxes upon newspapers. While one of the supreme
courts at Westminster is pretty unequivocally de-
claring that the law is unintelligible—in other words,
that it is full of traps and pitfalls for honest and
independent men—our liberal and reforming govern-
ment is straining every nerve to keep this law unal-
tered; and its law officers are endeavouring to
exact penalties by means of it.

THE spirit of clique is inveterate. It is oligarchy
carried to a species of fanaticism ; and the love of
domination degraded into meanness. As nothing is
too large for aristocratic ambition, so nothing is too
small fur the cupidity of clique. Its appetite is in-
satiable, and its digestion omnivorous. The only
limits of its rapacity seem to be, in a country like
ours, the number of its own branches and their capa-
bility of bearing the golden fruit engrafted on them.
There are not ELLiors and GRES'S enough to carry
all the spoil. Hence it becomes necessary to have
two or three auxiliary cliques--families connected
more or less intimately with the chief men of the
feast, whose business ancl privilege it is to gather up
such fragments as occasionally remain, so that no-
thing be lost. The house of niters is one of these,
aad a dainty boas has just fallen into its supplemen-
tary basket.
The Comptrollership of the QUEEN'S Household,
vacant by time death of theIIOO.WILLLOI LASCELLES,
has been given to the Earl of MULGRAVE. The noble
member for the snug borough of Scarborough is one
of those useful adherents of an oligarchic government