The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-03-26 00:00:00

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.

LIVERPOOL.
BEFORE MR. MANSFIELD
STREET ROBBERY —Mr. John Findlay, who said he
was an auctioneer, charged a fierce looking young
ruffianiy fellow, named Thomas Pearce English, wi h
having assaulted and attempted to rob him, at seven
o'clock on Tuesday evening, in Lime street. The
prisoner was described as being recently a waiter at
Langan's public house, Waterloo road, and a " boxing
boy," and from his appearance and conduct it would
appear bat he was fit for the commission of any outrage.
The complainant said, shortly before seven o'clock on
Tuesday evening, he was passing by the Queen's Hotel,
Lime street, to his business, when the prisoner and
another person not in custody seized him by the neck, and
the prisoner put his hand into his trouser's p-cket, but not
getting any money, he seized his watch and chain, with
which he made several desperate efforts to get away.
Some assistance came up, and the prisoner rushed away
towards the market, but was pursued, and after a
hard chase, captured in Williamson square. Don
Francisco Tomaso said; he was standing at the hotel
door, when he saw the outrage and attempt at robbery,
and he assisted in capturing the prisoner. Mr. Mansfield
said, he had heard of few grosser outrages. He sent the
prisoner for trial at the assizes.
POOR RATE ON PUBLIC BUILDINGS,—The trustees of
the Liverpool Institute were summoned to show cause
.why warrants should not issue for the collec.ion of poor
rates. Mr. Aspinall was fur the complainants, and Mr.
Blenkinsop for the defendants. There were two other cases,
one against the Medical Institute, for which Mr. Hull ap
peared, and the other against the Lyceum, which was
represented by Mr. Payne. After some discussion it was
lagreed to take the opinion of Mr. Mansfield on the
1 points, previous to appealing to the Queen's Bench.

BIRKENHEAD.
BEFORE R. BRYANS, ESQ.

UTTERING BASE COM—Robert Rooney, a young Irish
labourer employed at the works of the Great Float was
brought up on a charge of uttering a base half crown to
Mr. Price, grocer, Watson street. Inspector Strangward,
who had the case in hand, said that he was nnt then
prepared to lay the particulars before the magistrates,
but hoped to be able to do so, and prayed for a remand,
which was granted.

BEFORE J. S. JACKSON, ESQ.

LODGER ROBBING LODGER.—Mary Cain, a woman 40
years of age, was charged with stealing a scarf shawl of
the value of 205., the property of Mary Douglas. It
appeared, from the evidence, that the prosecutrix and
prisoner lodged in the same house in Back Beckwith
street, and in addition to their bedrooms, had the use of
the kitchen. On Saturday morning last, about cPven
o'clock, the prosecutrix left her shawl on the back of a
chair in the latter place, and in about a quarter of an
hour after, she missed it. The prisoner had taken the
shawl, and gone direct to a pawnshop close by, but in
consequence of the contradictory statements made by
her respecting it, the assistant said he should detain
it, and gave information to the police, who, upon
making enquiries, found the owner. Prisoner said it was
her shawl, which was denied by the owner, and prisoner
was committed for trial,

PASSING BASE COlN.—Robert Rooney, who stood
remanded on the above charge, was discharged for
want of sufficient evidence to bring the casehome to him.

ADDRESS OF THE BALLOT SOCIETY TO THE
ELECTORS OF THE UNITED KINODOM.

The determination of the .ministry to appeal to the country
induces us to address you on the question whether a real
national representation can be obtained under our present
system of elections, and the effects of our defective representa-
tive system on the administration of public affairs. It has
been well said, that " We reformed our electoral system, and
we did what was much needed ; but going rather fieicely to
work, we limited most injuriously our range of choice for able
men to fill the administrative departments of the state, and we
shut the doors of the House of Commons upon all young men
of ability, except those of high birth, greet wealth, or extreme
opinions—in other words, a change professedly democratic has
thrown us more completely, in practice, into the hands of the
aristocracy ; and no Venetian oligarchy was ever more
exclusive than our present caste of State Governors."
Why is this ? Because the Sovereign can only select
her responsible advisers out of a few great families,
who form the governing classes of this country for no Ministry,
not chosen from these classes, could " obtain the necessary
majority in the House of Commons." The result of this
state of things is thus described by the leading journal of the
day .—" The Ministers of the Crown, who undertake the
government of this empire, are not a bit wiser or better men
than thousands of all other ranks of the Queen's subjects,
except here and there where a man of genius rises amongst
them, as he may from any other class."—" Our generals have
turned out worse than useless ; our ministers something more,
than incapable ; every public department has been crushed into
hopeless imbecility by the weight of unbending routine and
worthless formalities, and on no one occasion that we are aware
of has the right man been selected to fill the right place,"
The energy, ability, and industry of the people of this country
have raised it to the highest rank among the nations of the
earth, but the incapacity and want of foresight of our ministers,
have lowered us in the scale of nations, and brought contempt
on representative government. The same class of men who
maintain the supremacy of this country in arts and sciences,
trade, and manufactures, could, without doubt, furnish rulers
able to maintain the supremacy of our arms and our national
honour, but such men are rarely, if ever, called on to under•
take the government. The Ministers of the Crown, the com-
manders of our fleets and armies, and the chiefs of the
branches of civil and military administration, are chosen, not
for merit or ability, but from " influence," because they
belong to " powerful families," who can make or destroy a
ministry by giving or withholding parliamentary support.
These families monopolise place and power ; not content
with the exclusive possession of the House of Lords, they
aim at, and to a great extent succeed in, monopolising the
People's House of Parliament, and exclude, as much as
possible, from any share in the Government, all men not
connected with their own class. The source and strength
of the parliamentary power of the oligarchy is the control
the law permits them to exercise over the votes of the electors
throughout the kingdom ; by which large numbers of English-
men become so much voting power at the disposal of the
wealthy and powerful. By the different influences which, as
landlords, customers, and in other countless forms, they have
over the electors, whose dependance is multifariously diversified,
the governing factions, Whig and Tory, secure, with a few
exceptions, the whole of the county members, and a majority
of the borough members for England, Ireland, Scotland, and
Wales ; the members of Parliament, who really sit by free
and popular election, being an insignificant minority. This
makes the oligarchy omnipotent in Parliament ; and though
they may struggle for the mastery over each other, and differ
on points of speculative policy, they are united and irresistible
on all points affecting their monopoly of government ; while
the people stiff& both the evil of being misrepresented
by those they have not chosen, and the evil of being forced into
a pretended chciee. The remedy for these evils is such a
reform of Parliament as will destroy the power which the
governing classes now have in the House of Commons,
and which makes an independent and popular ministry im-
possible. An extension of the suffrage alone will not do this,
The lowering of the franchise, and the consequent admission
of a greater number of dependent electors, would only
strengthen and increase the power which the possessions of
undue influences now have in returning members to Par-
liament. Complete and universal freedom of election alone
will obtain for us a House of Commons who will support a

ministry in which ability and' merit, and not influence, will
be the qualification for civil or military place in power. The
only means of obtaining this freedom is to establish the vote
by ballot. Wo gladly adopt the following remarks from the
pen of an able journalist :—" Wo may call upon the consti-
tuencies till doomsday to correct their elections, without our
calling being sensibly attended to, unless we shield and !fortify
the constituencies !with the ballot. Men will make great
sacrifices out of a patriotic spirit ; but few will consent
to ruin themselves for patriotism's sake. We
have a right to expect much from constituencies,
but we must not expect too much. We have no right
to call upon them to sacrifice position and prospects,
to see their business destroyed. their credit broken, their
families ruined, for the good of the public ; yet such things
have and do result continually from the honesty and courage
of men who dare to vindicate their principles and refuse to vote
for partizans of their customers. We claim for honesty
the protection of the ballot. We claim for every man
whom the law has enfranchised, freedom from the dictation of
those who possess the power of injury, for experience has shown
that men who have such power are not slow to use it when
their wishes are crossed," Around this ono point we would con-
centrate the popular energies at the coming election, confident
as we are that without the ballot no measure of reform will
prove efficient, and that with it any measure will be a real step
in advance gained, from which further progress will prove
easy, and further necessary reforms will inevitably follow. We
therefore counsel you to use every exertion at the corning
election to secure the ballot being made the law of the land by
the parliament now to he elected. Require of every candidate
who seeks your suffrages, that he pledges himself to vote for the
annual motion for the ballot, and that- he will use his influence
with any ministry he may support to induce them to ms.lite the
ballot a government measure. Fellow countrymen, in appealing
for your cc-operation and aid,we would again respectfully but
earnestly remind you of the importance of an energetic movement
in favour of the ballot at the present juncture. Now, if ever,
should the constituencies and the people put forth the con-
stitutional power with which they are invested in a struggle for
free and protected voting.