The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-04-22 00:00:00

T 137, NORTHERN TIMES.-4 EP POOL, itIVE DNE S DAY.

interments. He regretted to say that the people of
Liverpool were evidently prejudiced against the
cemetery, but he really could not see for what
reason. It is not so far from town---could easily
be reached by railway—and could, by a little judi-
cious outlay, be rendered the most attractive
burial ground in Lancashire. He wished that it
was transferred to the Burial Board. Mr. Church
warden Woodruff concurred in the remarks of the
Chairman, and the Vestry separated shortly after.
At the County Court yJsterday,. -Messrs. Wm
Rathbone, Frederick Hull, and T. Martin, trustees
of the Royal Oak Burial Society,-made an applica-
tion to the Judge for an injunction to restrain tile
committee of the society from proceeding any
further upon certain alterations of the rules
adopted at recent meetings, held in the Clarendon_
Rooms. Hid- Honor suggested that the matter
should be amicably arranged, and for that purpose
adjourned the case until two o'clock ; but unfor
tunately no arrangement could be entered into by
the parties interested, and the case proceeded, Mr.
&Tar, at great length, stating the grounds upon
which the trustees applied for the injunction. He
gave a complete history of the recent disgraceful
disputes between the committees, members, and
collectors of this society ;. and his Honour said he
would deliver his decision on to morrow week, the
31st instant.
The Quarter Sessions commenced at Kirkdale
yesterday, Lord Stanley in the chair ; and, after
the discussion of the various reports presented by
the officials to the magistrates, they adjourned
until this day, when the trial of prisoners will be
proceeded with. •
We yesterday noticed the arrival of the Hon.
Neal Dow in this country, from the United States;
the object of his visit being the furtherance of the
Maine Liquor Law principles in the United King-
dom. We are much afraid ho will meet with a
most determined opposition. In Scotland be will
not make many converts. The Forbes MAckenzie
Act, in that part of the British island, was a Maine
Law in a small way. It was ire the - estimation of
many of its supporters only the first step to a more
complete measure. The Act is rapidly going the
way of its'exemplar in the United States. Regula-
tion of the traffic to some extent, of course, there
must always be, but it is vain to expect the spread
of temperance, and, the formation of sober manly
habits, or anything more indeed than mere externa
order, from legal restrictions or police arrange-
ments: It is to a different instrumentality alto-
gether, namely, to education and to moral and
religious culture, that we must look for a reforma
don of the habits of the people. P
On Monday evening a meeting of' working men
was held in London, and adopted a resolution of
sympathy with Messrs. Cobden, Bright, Gibson,
Fox, Miall, and Walmsley, for the defeats which
they have sustained during the late elections. The
highest enconiums were passed upon the public
services rendered by those eminent men, and the
hope was earnestly expressed that they would soon
be found organising and leading a
.great popular
movement for parliamentary refoi'm. The meeting
then, expressed its views on the latter subject, pass-
ing resolutions in favour of manhood suffrage, vote
by ballot, and other democratic measures.
Of the Duchess of Gloucester, the last bulletin
says that she remains in much the same state; in
fact, is even worse.
From reports in the London papers of yesterday
it appears that the shoe-black monopolists are
again endeavouring to hunt down such of the poor
boys, who ply, their honest trade at the corners of
the streets, as do not wear the Ragged School
badges. And we are sorry to learn that the Lord
Mayor sanctions this crusade against unpatronised
poverty.
Mr. Gladstone has addressed a letter to a gentle
man who bad called his (Mr. G.'s) attention to an
attack on his public conduct, contained in what
purported to be a speech of a Mr. Hall, at Holywell,
during the late election for Fiintshire, and -inti-
mating that his friends wished it to be properly
noticed and explained. He vindicates himself in
the following terms :—" The question whether his
invective is merited rebuke or unequivocal slander,
is happily one of fact, namely, whether it is true, as
he says, that at the period of Mr. Roebuck's motion,
Lord Palmerston consented to it, and I (with
others) took pretended offence to his consent-
ing, and resigned ; . or whether the truth is,
that Lord Palmerston,- like me, resigned, office
in January, 1855, rather than agree 'to Mr. Roe-
buck's motion; that Lord Palmerston informed
me before I joined his Government in February.
that he intended to continue his resistance, and
that on changing his mind, together with the' great
majority of his colleagues, whilst I simply adhered
to mine, I was deprived of office as a necessary
consequence. The account of the matter which I
have briefly given, stands wholly upon undisputed
statements made at the time in the House of
Commons."
Mr. Layard has issued his farewell address to the
electors of Aylesbury. He states that responding to
the appeal made to them by Lord Palmerston, the
constituencies of England have removed from the
roll of the House of Commons many of those historic
names which will be as landmarks in the annals of
our country. To effect this result, every means
that the influence of government could ,command
have been brought to bear. It is- no dishonour to
suffer with Cobden, Bright, Gibson, Clay, Card-
well,.otway, and a host of. others; who have ever
been found on the side of the people, and have
been intimately associated with almost every recent
measure for enlarging their liberties or contributing
to their, welfare. " I cannot believe that this state
of things will long continue, and I feel convinced
that, when the country has recovered from the
delusion into which it has been betrayed, the very
exclusion of these men will lead to important
results, and will mainly contribute to the success of
the cause of Progress and Reform."
General Beatscn has appealed to the Press
against the secrecy of the Military Enquiry into
the quarrel between him and 'General Shirley.
The Bishop of Exeter is reported as being
alarmingly ill. The Bishop is eighty years.of age,
and Lord Shaftesbury ;would, perhaps,---we hope
we are not uncharitable—like to appoint an evan
successor to the sturdy High Churchman.
The Society of Friends of FOreigners in Distress
at Liverpool is beginning to make itself felt. It
has lately taken up the part of those seamen so
brutally treated by the American captains and
mates. The Prussian Government has caused its
diplomatic representative at Washington to remon-
strate with the United. States Government on
account of the many acts of-violence committed on
Prussian subjects in kidnapping them on board
of American vessels. This step 'has been
Mainly founded on a report from the Liverpool
Society. The authorities in Prussia are also
directing the stream of navigation to Canada and
Australia' in preference to the United States It
is stated in Berlin that the Prince and Princess of
Prussia, with their son, Prince Frederick William,
will visit Queen Victoria in June.
We see that the Neufchatel Conference has
again resumed, and that a fair settlement is
expected, that is, if Frederick of Prussia should
keep quiet. The worst of the King of Prussia
is, that he is never of the same mind for two
consecutive days.
,He is a drunken sot—one day
sober, another day " boozy," and the next day in the
" blue devils," recovering from a debauch. He alter-
nates between maudlin melancholy and hilarious
excitement--at one time is on the confines of
delirium tremens, at another le appears the most
rational monarch in Christendom. It is almost
impossible to deal with such a person, especially
when we consider that he is a despotic Monarch,
without any check—moral or constitutional—on
his drunken vagaries. Such is the real reason
why the Neufchatel difficulty has not been settled
long ago. The Conference will now, it is said,
publish the notes of its meetings, and state the
grounds on which Switzerland and Prussia have
disagreed, and so take leave of the matter. As to
a war arising out of the difficulty, such a suppo
sition is ridiculous.
There is no political news of any consequence
from France this morning. The death of the
:Duchess de ltaguse, widow of Marshal Marmont,
is announced.

Intelligence of the 15th, from Algiers states that
the Ist Regiment of Zouaves, which heads the
expedition against the Beni Ratten, had arrived at

Tizi Ouzzov, which forms, with Dra el Mikan, the
advanced posts of the French. It is at Tizi
Uuzzun, that the stores and munitions of the
inyading ~colnronS will. be concentrated; The
remaining regiMents will advance immediately
after the arrival of Marshal Randon, whol is still
reposing at his estate in the south of FranO.

l'he visit of the Emperor and Empress of
Austria to Hungary is postponed to the second
fortnight in May.

UNLESS we egregiously mistake the present
temper of the nation, and misread the signs of
the times, there will soon be a vigorous demand
for measures of domestic reform. England
WiShes well to the liberty and prosperity of all
nations ; our interest lies wholly in that direc-
.tion, and there is no reason why our desire should
not correspond with our interest; but we desire
in the first place improvement at home. And
when we have set our own house in order, we
shall better be able to give advice or example to

our neighbours.

Among the questions that will soon come up
in the New Parliament will be that of the Ballot.
Either it may be taken up seperately as a distinct
question, and tried again on its own merits, or,
what is perhaps more probable, it may be embo-
died among the provisions of the New Reform
Bill that we are led to expect from the present
Parliament. There exists in any case a desire
that the electors' vote should be a real vote ; if
we are to expect his opinion, it should be his
genuine, unconstrained, unbought opinion. To
ask a man to vote freely while he is left open to
corrupt influences, is a cruelty and a mockery.
Either withheld the franchise, or let it be exer-
cised in perfect security. Now, in the present
condition of society, men are exposed to corrupt
influences, which for shortness may be called
bribery and intimidation. If a man votes in a
certain way, he may displease his customers; he
is tempted, therefore, either not to vote at all, or
to vote according to the wishes of those on whom
he is dependant. So long as men are dependant
on each other, the wishes of the more powerful
will sway the action of the less powerful. A
farmer has an interest in not displeasing his
landlord by an unacceptable vote. It is true,
most landlords may never interfere with their
tenants, and most shopkeepers may be left alone
by their customers; but while sectarian feelings
run so high both in ,politics and religion, there
will always be the temptation and the possibi-
lity.

In order, then, that an elector may express
his own individual conscientious opinion, let the
vote be given in secret. This is the only sort
of protectionism which we advocate—pro-
tection against the undue influence of
bribery and intimidation. In this way
we have the genuine opinion of the elector.
If it be said that the vote should remain open
because oftentimes the elector is incompetent to
judge how he ought to vote, and that by the
open vote you get private ignoranze corrected
by public opinion. The answer is, if the voter
is incompetent to vote, the proper remedy is to
withdraw his franchise, not to mock him with a
power which he is incapable of using, and not to
defraud the country with the idea of a genuine
enlightened opinion which is never recorded.
If the elector is too ignorant to vote, and must
wait till he is told what to do, then your consti-
tuency is at fault. Let us know who really gives
the vote, whether the elector, or certain parties
outside. If these outside parties are co.npetent
to decide the vote of the elector, they are com-
petent to give a vote on their own behalf, and
the constituency is too narrow, the franchise
should be extended.

If then it is desired to protect the vote
of the elector from the dictation of the
few, or from the coercion of the many, the
simple remedy is, to permit the vote to be given,
in secret. This does not preclude the benefit of
public opinion. An elector may hear, read,
compare, and judge for himself, while he delivers
his conscientious vote without the interference
of a third party. All honour to those ,who, in
the face of danger, and at the risk of perilling
their own interests, go forward bravely to the
poll and give an open vote. But such courage
and such self-sacrifice. cannot be expected of all
men, and ought not to be demanded of any.
The exercise of a political right, the discharge of
a public duty, ought not to be made at the cost
of the individual. Why should not the individual
be protected, especially if this protection would
contribute to the better discharge of the duty.
We contend it would. If the conscientious
opinion of the voter is worth having, then let us
offer the facility of the protected vote.
We are aware of the objection made by Lord
JOHN RUSSELL, Sir JAMES GRAHAM, and others,
that it is un-English. And if we were
to adopt no improvements but such
as are of 'home growth, there might be some
force in this. But there really is none, while we

eat corn grown on foreign soils, paid with English
money or produce; while we use the printing-
press, which is a foreign importation; and profess
Christianity. If improvement can be found, let
us adopt it wherever it may have originated.
Free Trade would be exploded if we are to con-
fine ourselves only to• things English. The art
of printing is German ; and Christianity is
Jewish, not English. The proper question is
—will _ the ballot ensure the desired end of
secrecy. If it will, questions and objections as
to its birth-place are quite foreign to the matter.
We believe that simple mechanical means could
be contrived to make the vote completely secret.
Of course if a man chooses to publish how he has
voted, there ought to be no restriction , but he
ought to possess at least the option of giving a
secret vote if he deems it needful for his security.
The rising co!ony of Australia—that young giant
of the East—has adopted the ballot. It does not
appear that there is any special antipathy between
the Anglo-Saxon temperament and the ballot,
notwithstanding we have been told again and
again in this country, that this would never be
endured by the English people, We believe the
English people will, be wise enough to endure
and adopt anything that will contribute to the

improvement of their institutions, and, thereby,
to the security of the nation's well-being and
prosperity. The ballot, like all human things,
falls short of perfection; but it would be an im-
provement on our existing condition. We are,
therefore, led to expect that, in the present Par-
Jiament, which we fondly trust will eminently
deserve the name of a Reforming Parliament,
this matter of the protected vote will receive the
consideration it deserves, and at no distant day
become part of the law of the land.

YESTEIthAIt, the General Election was com-
pleted. The new House of Commons, accord-
ing to the returns consists of 65.5 members, one
more than the correct number, owing to the
double return for Huntingdonshire. It has no
less than 187 members who had no seats in the
last Parliament, whilst 168 gentlemen who voted
for -Mr. COBDEN'S motion have been re-elected
—a number quite sufficient to cause the Noble
Lord at the head of the Government no small
amount of annoyance and effective opposition
should there be a second edition of the Chinese
atrocities: According to the most accurate
classification of the new House of Commons,
which we have seen, it would seem to comprise

Palmerstonians ..... 265
Derbyites ..... •• ••• •• • ••• •

Reformers... ........ . ...... 100
Liberal-Conservatives..... ..... . 53
From the above estimate, which is founded
upon the election addresses and speeches of the
members returned, the public can form a pretty
fair estimate of the amount of public‘ good which
is likely to follow the turmoil and the expense of
a general election. The more we reflect upon
the late contests and their results, the more are'
we convinced that the great election cry of
" PALMERSTON for ever !" was, to say the least of
it, ill-advised Late accounts from China throw
quite a new light upon the origin of the Canton
dispute; and when the Ministry are again inter-
rogated about our warlike operations in China,
sonie strange and not very creditable disclosures
will be made. No matter how the nation may
confide in the courage and sagacity of Lord PAL-
MERSTON, it will be found that his foreign policy
in this particular has been antagonistic to the
principles of Justice or Mercy.
To Great Britain the extension of her com-
merce is a matter of the highest importance.
By it her artisan population, is employed, and
millions of her people renderid contented and
happy. But that contentment, prosperity, and
happiness must not be obtained by compulsory
means, which treat with contempt the peculiar
religious, national, and social habits of the people
from whom we desire to reap commercial advan-
tage and gain. Were it otherwise, our national
cry for civil and religious liberty would be but a
hollow pretext, " a mockery, a delusion, and a
snare," and Englaiid would justly merit the
character given to it by NAPOLEON the First,
namely, that we are but "a nation, of shop-
keepers." They who advocate the foreign policy
of this country are " too apt to think of the com
mercial advantage which will, arise from the
victorious results of our arms. But this is erro-
neous. " Might" does not in every cage constitute
"right," at least such a right as is in consonance
with truth and justice, which discountenances the
strong conquering the weak, unless there has
been a flagrant violation of the principles of
meum and tuum, and the perpetration of
atrobities, such only as barbarians of the most
heathenish type can commit. On these grounds
we are sorry to see some of the returns which
have been made. In many instances the electors
have been led away by their feelings of nation-
ality, which were unduly excited.
Without entering into an examination as to the
nature and extent of the Canton dispute, they have
treated as an enemy to his country a great number
of those members who voted for Mr. COBDEN'S
motion. We have therefore to mourn over the
defeat of many able, eloquent, and experienced
statesmen, and the cause- of our regret -is in-
creased when we consider that they have been
replaced by a set of Apolitical amateurs=men
whose habits and avocations are foreign
to the toil and drudgery which belong to
the life of a faithful member of Parliament, and
a steady discharge of the multifarious duties
appertaining thereto. We regret the rejection
of such men as CAFtDWELL, COBDEN, BRIGHT,
Fox, MIALL, WALMSLEY, &c., &C. They are
too great and too useful statesmen to be done
without. And,' although we do not coincide in
all their political doctrines, we trust the day is at
hand when the public voice will demand their
services in the House of Commons, and thus
atone for the injustice which their late defeats have
heaped upon them. If the nation is in earnest
about political and ecclesiastical reforms, the
presence of the above-named gentlemen in the
House is indispensible. We deplore the infatua-
tion of any constituency which would reject such
tried and able men, in order to recognise the one-
sided cry of " PALMERSTON for ever." We fear
that, although all the :constituencies named are
what is commonly termed Liberal, there has been
much tampering with the electors, and a severe
twisting of the electoral screw in order to
vindicate Lord -PALMERSTON'S foreign policy, in
Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Huddersfield,
Leicester, Oxford, and other places of less note

But enough on this part of the subject. Tile
late general election was carried on with the idea
that among the first acts of the new Parliament
would be a revision of the Parliamentary repre-
sentation of the country, with the view to an ex-
tension of the suffrage, and vote by ballot. If
any credit is to be attached to the Observer, a
ministerial journal, Lord PALMERSTON has no in-
tention of bringing forward any such measure
during the ensuing session, whilst the Edinburgh
Review, an able periodical of standing and repute,
points out no more important duties for Lord
PALMERSON than that he " should take the lead
in giving the greatest degree of efficiency to his
government." The same writer counsels the new
Parliament to be only " friendly to practical im

provements" and " averse to sweeping organic
ohanges." From all these circumstances it is
already evident that measures of " progress" wiii
be for a time delayed, unless the Parliament,
when it meets, compels an unreserved declaration
of the intentions of Government. It is the irn •
perative duty of every Reformer who has been
sent to the House of Commons not to permit the
people's political rights to be any longer withheld
The rumoured intentiJn of Ministers to intro-
duce measures relating to poor-rates, married
women, metropolitan tolls, and Board of Health
jobbing, for the purpose of diverting attention
from the one great question cf Parliamentary
Reform, should be properly met, and deter-
minedly defeated.

WE are glad to find from the procee3ings of
the Health Committee, on Thursday last, that
the remonstrance addressed to Mr. DOVER has
had the desired effect. That gentleman now
says " that his remarks hal been misunder-
stood—that on one, and only one occasion, he
did think the magistrates had inflicted too sma.l
a fine on a person who had violated the law for
the suppression of the Smoke nuisance."

This statement is much at variance with Mr.
DOVER'S previous sweeping condemnation of the
magistrate's decisions, and his declaration that
unless heavier penalties were inflicted on par-
ries informed against, the Smoke Committee
would have to resign their functions. We were
certainly surprised at such sentiments being
uttered by Mr. DOVER, who is usually so consi-
derate and guarded in his language. Had they
emanated from the Chairman of the Smoke Com-
mittee himself, we should not have attached so
much importance to them.
We confess we are of opinion that it would
have been more becoming in the worthy Alder-
man if his acknowledgment of error had been
made without qualification or reservation. All
has been done, he now admits, by the magis-
trates to support the Smoke Committee, except
in one case, and this is the sore point. It
appears the manager of the Woodside Ferry
was summoned for an alleged offence against
the Act. He pleaded the general freedom of
the boats under his care from smoke, and
stated that if there really had been an emission
of smoke from the boat informed against, it
must have arisen from an inexperienced stoker.
having been employed on the occasion in ques-
tion. The magistrates were, under the circum-
stances, induced to take a lenient view of the
case, and inflicted a mitigated penalty of only 10s.
and costs--a" punishment, in our opinion, quite
sufficient to satisfy all the requirements of jus-
tice, although it appears otherwise to the Smoke
Committee ; and here, unfortunately, they have
shown their indiscretion, and have given some
grounds for the insinuations made against them,
that the enforcing of the heaviest penalties the
law allows is a primary object with them and
their officers.

We have sometimes occasion to cross the river
in the Woodside boats, and often several times a
day, and we cannot call to mind an instance
when we have seen such an emission of black
smoke from any of these boats which could be
construed into a nuisance. In fact such are the
excellent arrangements of Captain REID, and the
vigilance displayed by himself and his officers on
this very point, that any offence committed by
his engineers or stokers is promptly detected
and punished, without reference to the Smoke
Committee at all. Under such circumstances we
do think the justices exercised a very wise dis-
cretion in only inflicting the mitigated penalty
of 10s.; and we further think that it would have
been more creditable to the Smoke Committee
if they had listened themselves to Captain REID'S
explanations, and ignored the information as
frivolous.

But Mr. DOVER argues that in every case
three notices are served on all parties before
they are summoned. Now, we do not pretend
to know all the mysteries of the Smoke Com-
mittee, but if we are not greatly in error, their
original Smoke Inspector, the man who really
did most to abate the smoke nuisance, was
throughout opposed to these formal notices, and
doubtless he had good grounds for his opposition
to them. There is no despotism so hateful as a
petty despotism, and it is just possible that the
Smoke Committee might become a very trouble-
some one to owners of furnaces. It may number
amongst its members weak-minded men, who,
impressed with the importance of their mission,
and burning with zeal to distinguish themselves,
might sanction acts of positive tyranny and
injustice ; while the servant or servants of such a
committee, desirous of earning the good opinion
of their superiors, and showing forth their own
vigilance, would have the strongest possible
inducement to magnify the most trivial
matter into a serious offence. We do
not by any means insinuate that such
is really the case, but it is not without,
the range of possibility—for such is human
•

nature.
The more we reflect on this subject, the
more thoroughly are we convinced that the surest
way to avoid any such contingency would be for
the Smoke Committee to resolve itself into its
original element, namely, the General Health
Committee. So many Committees, with separ-
ate staffs, are decidedly objectionable in every
sense. The Smoke Committee have fulfilled
their mission; they have signally triumphed over
all opposition, and effectually suppressed the
nuisance, as if by a miracle, and they can now
afford to repose upon their laurels, for there is,
in reality, nothing for them to do, and it would
only be a farce, and nothing else, to persist in
maintaining a separate and independent exist-
ence, apart from the timid' Committee.
They have a valuable and efficient officer, whose
services could be rendered available in a variety of
ways truly beneficial to the public. Such.a man
would prove an invaluable officer in maintaining
order on the present landing stage, where he
was formerly employed with so much advantage,