The Express.
London, England, 1868-09-03 00:00:00

TOTS DT BALLOT.

The Sls, regrets that Mr. Hughes, the member for Lam-
beth, is not an advocate for the ballot. It cannot under-
stand how he, of all men, Drought, Al be is, into nation-
ship with all classes of society, can fail to see that the
ballot is the one only thing which can protect the poorer
voters against the temptation of a bribe, the force of inti-
midation, or the pressure of an Influence which is really
intimidation or coercion in another form. It looks to find
lie. Hughes, one day among its supporters.
The Doily -Vries takes occasion of Earl Russell's letter
to his Irish tenantry—allowing them to vote as they
please—to ask what is the difference between the direct
offer of a bribe and the indirect threat of a penalty I'
What is the landlord who seeks to influence his tenants
in the discharge of their political trust better than the
speculator who seeks to influence • juryman in the
discharge of the trust committed to him Y The offence'
belong to the same category, and it is only the
familiarity of the one and the infrequency el the
other which make society regard them differently. Land-
lords cannot too soon learn that their rights over their
property do not in the present day extend to individuals
who reside upon it. The tenant is as much a citizen as
his landlord ; hi+ vote is a trust committed to him by the
state, and the state must protect him in the exercise of it.
The landlonl's rights are exactly stated by Earl Russell,
and the •• grave iK•litical offence whia h so many land-
lords are guilty must have a penalty attaehed tai it, if
such a protection of the electoral tru4 appears to be
needful.

We (laublii, Eceni,ly Nail) are happy to stato
that the attack of illness under which the venerable Earl
of Roden suffered has passed a without leaving any
ectious consequences. His lordship has already regained
his usual health.

The Duchess of Hamilton, with her
Lady Mary and Sir Robert and Lady Emily Pod, .ire now
residing at Geneva.
OVERSEERS ANI. THE QUE.t.TION OF FEMALE
St-Trasor.—Mr. Sidney Smith, Secretary of the City of
London Liberal Registration Association, in a letter to
the Mow makes the following remarks on the difficult
question of the claims of women to vote at parliamentary
election? :--.• Overseers are not professional interpreters
of acts of parliament. Their business is to ' follow their
nose,' obey the plain words of their instructions. The Re-
gistration act (section 13) directs them to make out 'an
alphabetical list of all persons entitled to vote . .
in respect of the occupation of premises." Women
arc jorsous,' and if they ' occupy premises
they reasonably come within the category of
the clause. The precept sent to them by the town
clerk is to the same effect. I maintain that unless an
objection affords the revising barrister the opportunity of
raising the question of ' legal incapacity,' he has no right
whatever to expunge the names, which can only be done,
in the absence of objection, where the ' qualiffiation, us
described on the list,' is ' sufficient in law.' Once on
the register without objection, the returning officer can-
not refuse to record the vote ; and thus will be commenced
the innovation that ultimately will carry the question of
female sufrage.-

THE METROPOLITAN ELECTIONS.—It appears
(says the Ii at) that all the arrangements have been made
for the city of London and the metropolitan boroughs,
end it is not likely that many more candidates will be
added to the already very ample het. The city of London
returns four members, but no elector can give more than
three votes. All the other boroughs return two members.
each elector having two votes. The present state of
affairs with regard to candidates is as follows, the letters C and
L standing for conservative and liberal:—City of Loudon,
Baron Rothschild (p: Mr. R. W. Crawford (L) ; Mr.
0. J. Ouches (L) ; Mr. Alderman Lawrence (1.)); Mr.
Alderman Gibbons (C) ; Mr. Philip Twells ; Mr.
Charles Bell (C). Marylebone, Mr. Harvey Lewis (L) ;
Mr. T. Chambers, Q.C. (L) ; Dr. Sandvrith (L). N% est-
minder, Captain Grosvenor (L) ; Mr. J. Stuart-fill (L) ;
Mr. W. H. Smith (C). Lambeth, Mr. T. Hughes (L) ;
Mr. Doulton (L) ; Mr. M'Arthur (L) ; Mr. Hartwell(L) ;
Mr. Alderman J. Lawrence (L); Mr. Morgan Howard (C).
Southwark, Mr. J. Locke, Q.C. (L) ; Mr. A. H. Layerd
(L). No opposition to the present members. Finsbury,
Mr. Torrens (L) ; Alderman Lusk (L); Mr. W. P.
Roberts (L) ; Sir Samuel Baker (C)—doubtful. Tower
Hamlets, Mr. A. S. Ayrton (L) ,Mr. Samuda ; Mr.
Beaks (L); Mr. Newton (L) ; Mr. Coop a (Ca. 11"lre2
(new borough), Mr. C. S. Butler (L) ; Mr. Deputy
(L) ; Colonel Dickson (L) ; Mr. J. J. Homer (L) ; Mr.
Helms (L) ; Mr. Tyumen Amherst (C). Chelsea (new
borough), Sir Henry Hoare, Bart. (1) ; Mr. C. W. Dilke
(L) ; Me C. J. Freaks (C) ; Dr. W. H. Russell (C).
Greenwich, Alderman Salomon' (L) ; Sir C. Bright (L) ;
the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone (L)—nominated without
consent ; Mr. J. B. Langley (L)—in the event of Mr.
Gladstone being elected elsewhere.
ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL.—The following are the
vwschers appointed by the Bishop of London to preach in
the cathedral on Sunday morninc in the month of Septem-
ber, 1868:—Sunday, September the Rev. Michael Gibbs,
M.A., of Glenville and Cams Co ege, Cambridge, vicar of
Christ Church, Newgate-street; Sunday, September 13,
the Rev. Thomas Jackson, M.A., of St. Ma Hall, Oxford,
rector of Stoke Newington; Sunday See mber 20, the
Rev. Richard Burger, 8.D., of St. John s College, Cam-
bridge, rector of Upper Chelsea ; Sunday, September 27.
the Rev. William Charles Frees Webber, M.A. of Christ
Church, Oxford, vicar of St. Butolph, Alele.sgato.
THE PARKS OF LIVRRPOOL.—TrebOrday, at the
meeting of the Liverpool Town Council, it was reindved
that en additional sum of 160,00 W., as provided by the
Art of 1885, should be borrowed, for the purpose of im-
proving the public parks of Liverpool.
NATIONAL EXHIBITION OF WORKS OF Any, AT
Litime—Returti of admissions: Wednesday, September 2,
by season tickets, 903 ; by payment of 2s. dd. each, 1,024;
total, 2,008.