Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-12-23 00:00:00

PROSECUTION OF AN NI P. FOR PITJTJAY

The first steps in the prosectition instituted against Mr. Edward
Auchmuty G over, the ex-rite caber for Beverley, have been taken,
and. in accordance with the tree bill fonyea against It m at the
Central Criminal Court, a bench warrant has been issued for his
apprehension. The charge preferred against hian, our readers are
aerate, is that of having made a false declaration in reference to his
qualification to entitl. him to take his s-at as a member of the House
of Commons; and such a charge being one by which other honourable
gentlemen may ill. ewise be affeated. supposing their respective road-
fizations to be rigidly inquired into, it has naturally excited a
sensation among a certain section of the legislative body. Upon
what pri iciple M-. Glover has been selected t o undergo such a
prosecution we know not, but that gentleman will have good ground
to consider himself as chosen to be the seeps-goat for the tr tnsgres -
stars of a whole class, if a similar measure of j istice is riot dealt out
to all who are in a similar poation. It seems that the select com-
mittee who sat to inquire into the circumstances of the late Beverley
election, were so scandalised at. the disclosures then made as to the
want of a proper qualification by Mr. Glover, that nothing would
satisfy them but a prosecution by the Attorney-General, which they
strongly recommends i accordingly. Moreover, on the matter bein g
referred to the house, a resolution was passed ratifying the recommea-
daton the committee, end directing a prosecution to be forthwith
csmmeneed. We have no %tell to cavil at the virtuons resolve of
our legislators, in a matter affecting their reputation for purity. yet
it cannot fail to strike most persons as rather s:ranee, considering
toe lax notions which have hitherto prevailed on the subject of a
property qualification, that a prosecution of this kind should have
been ordered under the high sanction of the House of Commons. Had
great care always been displayed, and a lig' t scrutiny oeee exer-
cised, with regard to the qualification of its members ant if every
gentleman who may be , resume it to have set the law in this re pact
se defiance had been blatantly visited with its displeasure, we could
more clesrly understand the step which has been taken with re,-rd
to Mr. Glover Bu-. when it is notorious that divers hon. gentl men
are firmly believed to be in exactly the same position, and, in default
of possening any property themselves, ha, e merely borrowed it
from others t r the special purpose of enabling them to make the '
required declaration. it does seem a piece of gross hypocrisy to
affect indignation in this case, as though his co-du t were unique
_
it the profligacy and want of principle it exhibit:. or ourselves,
' we are wholly oppose' to any property meal fl:atirn whoever as a
condition for a seat in Parliament, and deem the choice of the
e'ectors the best possible groun I for his right of ain-issi en to that
assembly ; stilt, if the property principle is to be sternly insisted
upon, let it be impartially applied. Let us have a rigid inqui ition
into all doubtful cases, ant allow no other memiar to escape the
penalty of doing that for which Mr. Glover is about to be pro,ecnted,
If prima facie grounds are needed, they can hardly be wanting is
such a case as that of Mr. Townsend, the member for Greenwich.
who, despite his property qualification of £soo a year, was
lately declared a bankrupt, albeit his debts, if we mistake
not, did not amount to a sum teat would be represeetel by
the income in .question. Certain .Irishmem' era also would
Ise apt to tremble e. eeretinisinge inquiry were made as to
their possession of property yielding the required sum., We are quite
aware that the ingenioni device of burrowing a q ialification is
occasionally resorted to, in order to save any, delicate scrnples of
conscience on the part of the incipient legislator; avid it is posstb'e
that Mr. Glover may have neglected that prudent formality, and
thereby laid himielt open to legal proceedings. But, on the other
hand, there is much excuse for that gentleman, knowing that many
of his brother legislators wore in the Name piespenyless predicament
as himself, if he regarded the matter as one of sm ill tnomen , and the
doclaratio a itself as a conventional sham. Had ha condescended to
borrow what he required he would doubtless h eve been safe ; for
what committee would engnire too closely into the validity o' a watt-
tics which has become almc,t a prescriptive right? It is rather too
much for the 'louse to affect to be horrified at what they know to be
constantly taking place. To ba suree the man who lends a qualifica-
tion is as much a party to a gross decopti n as he who b arrows one,
and ought to be equally liable to punishment ; but fictitious transac-
tions of this sort have been too frequent not to be perfectly within
the knowledie of every member of the House; ani it must have
required no common degree of assvarre, on the part of that vane,
ab Assembly, to instruct the Attorney General to prosecute the late
member far Beverley or riot possessinr a qualification which so many
others besides himself actually, or virtually stand in need of. We
shad watch the proceediaeeetistituted egotist Mr. Glover with mirth
interest, feeling anx'ous to tarn whether the offended virtue of the
Leeislature which had lad to the law being pat in force in his case,
will not be productive of a few more yr r widens egnall called for,
if a duo sense of right and j stice exists among lea members.

NEW COUNTY MAGISTRATES AT ROCHDALE.—At the
early part of this week,
.Alderman Livsev and Councillor
Scott, at the instance of a numb3r of gen. lemen who hid.
got up a memorial, waited upon the flight Hon. T. M.
Bainee, chancellor of the duchy of Larcashire, for the
purpose of presenting a memorial requesting that the
ex mayor, Jacob Bight, Esq., and the present mayor, R.
T. Heap. Esq., might be appointed county magistrates.
We understand a favourable answer was received. It is
not the intention of the town conneil, tor a few months,
to propose the appointment of a too ough bend.
TILE LATE EXCISION OF A MAN'S TONGUE AT EDIN-
BURG ll.—We understand that the patient who had his tongue
removed went on very well for nearly a week, Shen the
external wound was quite healed, and everything promised
fairly for his recovery, but that he th n rapidly sunk. On
examination it was found that the cause of death had no
direct connection with the operation, and was one which
might have proceeded from any other source. of irritation.
It is proper that. this should be known, since the principle
involved in the operation may be of consequence in the
practice of surgery. It map be remarked, that the patient
wag a man of in'emperate
_habits and bad coaditian.—
Reesman
RUBBERY OP GOLD WATOFIFIS PION THE WELL!NGTJN
STATION, LEEDS.—At the Leeds Court House, on Saturday
rn ,rning, Arthur Carr, a young man living in Cloth Hall-
street, and at present out of employment, was charged with
brenking open a box at the Leeds Wellington Station, on
the 6th instant, and stealing therefrom four gold watches,
the property of Mr. Umfrerille, traveller for a wholesale
jewellet'a establishment, at Birmingham. Mr. Umfreville
had arrived by, an evening train from Bradford ; and,
being desirous of getting forward to Selby the same night,
he called a porter to assist him with his luggage, which
consisted of a small box containing jewellery, and, enclosed
in a leathern case, a portmanteau, and a third package.
He asked the porter what time he should be s.b!e to reach
Selby, and the porter went to ascertain, leaving the packages
lin a barrow on the platform of the station. Mr. Umfreville
had, meanwhile; entered the refreshment-room, to procure'
a cup of tea; and, during his absence and that of the
porter, some daring and adroit thief broke open the end of
-the small case, and abstracted from the box four valuable
gold watches, worth £5O. The case itself caat tined jewel-
lery to the amount of £l,OOO. When Mr. Umtreville
returned to the platform, he found the case had been
forced, ant immediately ascertained his loss The numbers
of the watches being easily learned from his employers at
Birmingham, informatiou was given to the pawnbrikers in
the West Riding of the numbers, description, &a., of the
stolen goods. Nothing was heard of the watches until the
9th inst., when a young man, named Arthur Carr, who
was subsequently found living in C'oth Hall-street,
attempted to pledge one of them at the shop of Mr.
Middleton, pawnbroker. Mr. Middleton immediately
stopped the watch, and told the young man to call again on
the following day, and he would tell him what he could
advance upon it. He farther intimated to Carr that the
watch 'resembled one that had been tfioler. The prisgper
Carr, however, never called again for. the watch, stack was a
few days afterwards apprehended by Mr. Superintendent.
Grauhan, and charged with the robbery.. Carr acknow-
ledged that he had attempted to pledge the watch, but
denied having any Share in the robbery, and said he had
bought the article of a man at the top of Briggate for £3,
a few days before. Of this man, however, ho could not
afford any satisfactory account, and he was accordingly
now charged with being concerned in the robbery. He
was committed for trial.