Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-08-18 00:00:00

four. Again, they had no doubt seen that, wherever
they had ruffianism and rowdyism—if he might use

an American phras(

wherever they had this ruffianism

that critical time when the scale' might be turned.
There was a case the other day where these violent
means were used by a ruffian on a gentleman, (not

knowing that he was a valiant servant of the Crown,
and wearing her Majesty's livery. This gentleman was
narriarl nff by fltn ruffiang at ti eritionl nnint in tha nlant.

tion, and was not al
these questions well

see how things would be with the ballot. If they
had the ballot, they would not know:how the poll stood
at all until the election was over. The great merit of
the ballot was, that it would promote order, decorum,
and honesty, in taking the poll. He was by no means
certain, and he said it iu all candour, that it would
have any effect in carrying any particular party at the
poll. He would not say that his own views
would be likely to be reflected in the ballot-box. He
thought that in many cases the parties who dreaded the
ballot most would perhaps be the most profited by it.
But compare it with the villany, the bloodshed, and the
hideousness that we witnessed at our elections, as com-
pared with other counties where it was in operation,
and he said that the ballot, as an experiment, they
ought at least to resort to. (Hear, hear, and cheers.)
He would mention a fact, in illustration, which occurred
in America, on this question. Now, let them understand
he was not ping to quote America as a country where
they might look for imitation in everything regarding their
political institutions. They were as unfit for us in many
respects as we were unfit for them. But this, he would
say in passing, that the white man in the United States
had a theory in their government, which, if the human
instrument be equal to the political machine, went to deal
justly with everyone. (Cheers.) In America he was
speaking to a gentleman whose name was known to
some of our statesmen here—for he knew that
he gave evidence before a committee of the House
of Commons, ol which he sat, to inquire into the
mode of proceeding in our houses of Parliament—
he was a man standing high, both socially and
politically, and wishing that he (Mr. Cobden) should
have the full benefit of his views, he wrote him a letter
after he had left Philadelphia, which was addressed to
him at Washington. In this letter, he said : " I have
been for fifty years connected with political movements
in Philadelphia, and I never knew a vote bought or
sold." Now that was one of the largest states in Ame-
rica, and contained one of the largest populations of
working men—for Philadelphia had changed its cha-
racter from being what it formerly was, a leading sea-
port—and now it had become a manufacturing city con-
taining 60,000 or 70,000 inhabitants. That gentleman
would not have told him that Philadelphia was pure—
that there was not the same liability to corruption, and
he would not have told him that all their elections were
carried on peaceably and tranquilly ; but he wanted to
show that the ballot presented such an obstacle
to bribery, that no man would venture to bribe when
he had no means of knowing that ho got value tor what
he paid. (Hear, hear.) He would say nothing more
upon his experience in America at present, for
he confessed the honest truth, that he was so kindly
treated there, and he felt that he was treated
kindly there on a great question of cosmopolitan inter-
est, and treated in the same kind way as others who
had gone before him had been treated ; but he was
really so kindly treated that he felt he was scarcely an
impartial witness of that country, and therefore he was
induced not to say more about it. But this he would say,
that we in this country ought to feel that our electoral sys-
tem was pure, for our government depended upon it for
weal or for woe. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) It was
doubly necessary now that it shouldC be so ; for not anly
in our domestic government, but also in reference
to our foreign gorernment, public opinion. in, this