The Express.
London, England, 1857-08-08 00:00:00

CONEJO= OF ELECTION COMNITTELS.

(From the Ercainer.)

Mr. Cobbold, conservative member for Ipswich,
was a lucky man Dot to have Wel the petition against Lon
tried by the Yarmouth Committee; and !fedora. Watkin and
111•Cullagh, returned for Yneuiouth, were in the Gam. demo
. . . . . .

ladle Dot to have had their case submitted P, the

Committee fur Ipswich. We do not . how the decisioes
of there two committees are to N reconciled. The 4**,41
Cuminittoe reported to the home

"That Itol7ert Chillman was bribed by FreUrick Pearce
with the aunt of live

t•Tlett Edger Boma wee bribed by George Frederick
Butchtr awl IliniryAWE' with the cum or a

That John was brikvl by Arthur Thomas Cubsld
by MA agreement retuning him from the payment of rout ;
bat that it was not peened that sac► bribery was committed
with the knowledge and ooneent of J. C. CobbolJ, Esq.
That it appears by the evacuee taken:before this com-
mittee that the pigments toady to euters on account of inn-
' veiling expenses have been system emu. of the ac-
lust disbursement of such voters, althout;ll it was nut con-
clusively urovul tame the committee that such psyments
was made with a corrupt intention."
_

But notwithstanding thew provel Instances of bribery
sad the further rysteniatic corruption practised under the
mark of allowances for travelling experneer, the committee
did not row. to the conclusion that Mr. Cobbold war un-
duly elected for the borowTh of Ipswich; and accordingly
the conaerrigire member retains bis wait. Now contrast
with Ibis the warlutions of the committee b tho Great
Vet mouth awe: . .

"The Earl of Mach then ma the followinrmolutions of
the committee :

That Wm. TOTIIIIII lilTullinth end Eduard Wm.
Eopi., IbIlf• by their agents guilty of bnbiry M the
led election for die borough of Greed Yennoutb.
That Wm. Torreon M'Cellagh and Edward Wm.
Welkin, Fnqa., are not duly elected Lurgeeres to Ferve in the
Fluent yorlientent for the borough of Great Vermouth.
That the LIM election for the said Lurough is a void else•
ties. _ _

`t That it hos been proved to your c.momittea diet George
Wood, woe bribed with Bt.; Jatoe. Iknetood sith 31. ; by
John C. Itoyahi ; arid Charles Reeve by William Robert
Let. _ _

" That William Benjamin Layton, wee bribed by the over
et 10L, made to him by 1019411Denity Chapman; and
"That G. Watson and J. R. Ennis were bribed by pro-
Mi/t4 of money made to them by W. Spilling.
rho it was not proved to the committee that the 2/un-
said acts of bribery were committed with the knowledge or
calmest of the real W. T. Dl•Collegh and E. W. Wetkin,
Sego."

The Yarmouth committee found three positive cases of
bribery; the fps, ich committee found three, with the ad-
ditioonl ending of the general and systematk bribery in
the shape of travelling expenoes to voters; no that, com-
pering the asoonsts of corruption at Ipiwich and Yarmouth.
that at Ipswich was plainly the larger and grosser of the
two; yet Meese. 11•Cullsigh and Watkin are tamed out,
while Mr. Cobbold retains his seat. It is evident, therefore,
that justice has not used the same pair of scales in the two
ewes. Either the member for Ipswich should have been un-
seated as well as Mr. kVatkin and Mr. M'Cullegh ; or
those latter gentlemen ohould continue to sit as well as Mr.
Cobbold. Let no suppose that the same cutumittee had
haul the two cuss, could such contradictory judgments
have possibly been pronounced? The contradiction is not
the las eerie. because there were two tribunals to produce
ft, thletaigh it may not be quite so indecent.
We are aware of the impoosibility of preserving atria
anomaly ethos; the decisions of several independent
jurledledess; but here decreponey exceeds all returnable
befteds. It wadi be &Souk, we Imagine, to end any such
woad ef decileftes In the proceedings of the county
courts, for example. It is only in election committees that
there would seem to bees lead rules or principles ee bye
the law frith swinging from aide to aide. All le bap
hazard, as lea than if the immortal Judge Bridlegenth lad
lent his dies-box; and it is perfectly natural that the pile
should ascribe such violent itecillations of justice lis MOMS
that ought to be the last to influence any est dam IMF
eking judicial functions.
Liberals may well be excused imputing to party feelings
and interests the ?vaults of the Ipewith and Yarmouth in-
vestigation., when they see these results openly claimed sad
boasted of es cot:merest:lei triumphs. We read, for sample,
the Press of lent Saturday
"It is with much plasm* we record the result of this
waft eiseeies petieione. On Wednesday the two Übstral
thefthfts IR Greet Yarmouth were unmated ; and yesterday,
the conservative member, wee confirmed in his
Mint !girth& ; but in the other two cues of Huntingdon
au* and Sligo borough the revolt is even more grail> jog,
ilea having proved a decided and clear gain to the conger, a-
the piety." _ _ _

The mama staining of the Ipswich committee to dilute
es meth as posible the criminal colouring of the corruptions
they were compelled to record, be obvious from the lest para-
graph of their report. It le then stated that the pay-
UMW/ to voters, fur travelling expenses, were system-
mically in excess of the actual disburrements; al-
though it was not concluitively proved before the
committee that "such payments were made with a cor•
rapt intention." As if a corrupt intention could be MONO
safely inferred from any state of facts than from the syw
lanalit tams of the payments in question, every
lathing of which, beyond the actual bona fide
expenditure, was corruption and nothing else, clearly
coming under the Snot of the five heads or de-
scription.lof bribery enumerated in the *mind entice of
the Corrupt Practice. Act, and declared punishable as mis-
deessaboun.
We the more regret the extremely rigorous decision in the
Yarmouth case, beams; in addition to the loss of vote' to
the Liberal party, we here lost in Mr. M'Cullagh a zealous
re6now.and a man et energy and talent.