The Sun.
London, England, 1852-07-27 00:00:00

SUN,

LONDON,

way, but in those where professional money• ;
lenders are concerned, we believe that the

object which the Commissioners are desi-
rous of achieving would be best advanced by
reversing their former rul,e, and not only admitting
to bail, but discharging from custody every person
against whom no more serious charge can be pre-
ferred than that he has become a party to accommo-
dation bills.

The magistrates at Derby, after a careful investi-
gation into the charges against THOMAS MORGAN—
& bricklayer imported from Shrewsbury during the
recent election at Derby—have bound him over to
appear in due season. The charge is a very serious
one—that cf actually bribing certain electors, and it
is alleged that he, in fact, was caught in the very act.
The particulars of the case are interesting, and may
be briefly stated.
In the ancient town of Shrewsbury there resides a
hair-dresser n:ld barber named JOHN FRAIL, who
also is " clerk of the course" at the races there. This
person has been " concerned," for many years past,
in most of the contested elections in and near to the
county of Salop. It may be recollected that his
name was brought into public notice at the Ludlow
election inquiry in 1839-40. Although a man of
very scanty education, of profession not very exalted,
and of appearance not very inviting, FRAIL has
been so fortunate (by reason of his election con-
nexions and tactics) to be on a footing of some inti-
macy with political personages in his own neighbour-
hood, and his fame having reached London, it is said
that he has got into correspondence with certain
eminent members of the Carlton Club—that famous
purity-of-election confederation !
On Thursday, on the inquiry at Derby, was pro-
duced an envelope, bearing the seal of the Carlton
Club, addressed to " Mr. JOHN FRAIL, Clerk of the
Course, Shrewsbury," and containing the following
letter :

that you
cannot leave your own place—if not, send
is wanted immediately at Derby. I supposeoe whom
Derby on
" A good and safe man with judgment and quickness
you can trust in your place. Let him go
and Co.
of the town. Send his card to Cox, Brot
hehrst:t will be
receiving this, and find the County Tavern to Derby
lead works—as coming from Chester. T W. B.
enough.—Yours, , the centre
" Monday."
Mr. JOHN KEOGH (brother to the excellent and
distinguished Member for Athlone)
was examined
Derby, and stated—" I reside at 85 •
King
business.
Reigate William-
street, London-bridge. lam n out of
Rail-
way Company. Major WM. BEREFEFORD, the present
I was the secretary of the Reading and
at
Secretary at War, was the chairman of the board of
directors. Major BERESFORD is a member of the
Carlton Club; he is the gentleman who sat for a di-
vision of the county of Essex, an who has been
d
I have bad frequent
opportunities of seeing Major BERESEORD'S hand-
again returned for that division.
hand-
writing. The whole of the letter now produced is in
the handwriting of Major BEREsTORD• The direction
on the envelope is also his writing." This, we rather
thiLk, fixes the authorship of the FRAIL epistle on
Major BERESFORD, of " rabble" celebrity, who holds
a public situation in the
nt quite as ostensible
War, and has another appointme
Ministry as Secretary at
as " Tory whipper-iu."
It would seem that the
Salopianfriseur was unable
to comply with the urgent request of the Carlton
FRAIL did NOT go to
Club " polite letter-writer."
went—for, on the polling-
Derby. Somebody else
caugh.; in a back room at
day, THONIAS AIORGAN was
old and notes in his posses-
the County Tavern, with g
sion to the value of some hundreds. The man thus
rejoicing in this plethora of cash is—a bricklayer!
But, in ail likelihood, he wag the " good and slfe
quickness," man with judgment and whom W. B.
" wanted immediately at Derby.
It appeared, from the evidence, that Police-sergeant
FEARN, of Derby, apprehended MORGAN, on the Bth
inst., having got into his room by using certain pass-
words which bad been confided to him—we presume,
by some one who had ,c split ;" that he found the
money on his person ; that he also found a card in-
scribed "Mr. T. 2,l.ouGas, Chestar ;" that, the next
day, the prisoner said—
" His name was Thomas Morgan; but that he did not
come from Chester. The reason why he put Chester
upon the card was because Frail wished him to do so. He
then said that ho came to Derby on Tuesday ; that Frail
sent for him, and said he wanted him to come to Derby
to the election; and he (Frail) gave him the letter, and
that he =VI direct to the County Tavern according to
his instructions. That when he got there he sent his
card to Cox, Brothers, and Co., at the lead works; that
he did not know them at all, and, therefore, did not
know if he had over seen them. That nobody came to
him for two days. He said the gold in the bags was no
more his than mine. The loose gold was his. One bag
of gold was brought to him over night at the County
Tr.vern, and the other bag of gold and the notes on the
foi:owing morning. They were given to him in a dark
room, but he did not think he should be able to identify
the man who brought them. He also told me that ho
was to wait in the room end ray the money to persons
who brought cheques; which he did, and entered it in
the book with the numbers. As he was a stranger here,
ho did not know whether they were electors or not."
On the Bth the prisoner was remanded, but on his
Way back to the lock-up a letter was written for him
at his dictation (the " good and safe man" is pro-
bably not much of a scribe), directed to TISDALE,
Esq., Mountfields, Shrewsbury : we understand there
is an auctioneer named TISDALE in Shrewsbury,
but certainly not any Esquire so named. MORGAN
was very communicative to the police-officer, and
(to quote the very words)—
" He then repeated to me, that Frail had sent him to
Derby; he said he thought he was coming to Derby to
be a poll-clerk; if he had known that they had wanted
him for the job he was come for be would have seen
them d—d before he had come; he said he was vic-
timised. I then said to Mellor, Why, that letter has
no post-mark upon it.' The prisoner said, But there's
.the seal, that has not been broken.' I said, the letter
has been opened; he said, 'The seal has not been broken,
and the crest is upon it, and that will tell where it came
from.' He said the money was not his, but that as it
was given to him he should claim it. He said, that
many a man fixed as he was would have gone off with
the money. He told me he was a bricklayer, and came
from Shrewsbury. He said there were three newspapers
in 6ore:se:airy; one would expose him, and the other
two would try to smother it up. He said, there was a
new law for bribery, but he did not know what it was;
he said he expected they would make a witness of him,
and he should speak the truth. He said, the figures in
the book was the amount of money that he had paid,
and the numbers; that if we had not found tne book we
should have been bothered. lie .said, the figures were
in his handwriting."

A voter named SHARROCK. proved that be had
voted for Hortsraix, the Tory candidate, on a pro-
mise of Two Younth—that he then went up-stairs to
a back-room in the County Tavern, where (he says)
—"I found a man at the top of the stairs ; he allowed
the stoutish maa to pass by him into a room at the top
of the stairs, but he would not allow me to pass. The
stoutish man remained in the room two or three
minutes, when be came out again, and called me up
to the door, and putting his hand on my shoulder,
turned me round with my back towards the door, the
stoutish man put my right hand behind me, the door
was opened, and some one in the room put two sove-
r hand. I was not allowed to see the
personeign in my
who put the sovereigns in my hand ; the per-
sons
inside the room shut the door, and I went down
stairs." The room at the door of which SHARROCK
received the two pounds was that in which MORGAN
was apprehended.

As Co the facts there can be no doubt. The pay-
ment to SLIARROCZ is marked off in the briber's
book, and the briber (who seemed to think that his
Salopian employer had led him into jeopardy) has
admitted the truth of the evidence adduced. He
promised, in his fright, that he would tell the truth. He
may, if ever produced before a Parliamentary Com-
mittee. But is it probable that this MORGAN will be
allowed to remain in England ? He is personally
bound in 3001. for his appearance, with two sureties in
150/. each. Can any reasonable man expect that he
will appear ? The amount of bail is insufficient. The
Carlton Club correspondents can readily pay the
amount, and allow MORGAN to retire to Boulogne, as
EDWARDS did. FRAIL, we observe, has arrived in
London—whether en route to the Continent we know
not.

I The part which Major B
ERESFORD is said to have
uld imagine how that astute
have been so concerned,
taken in the transaction indicates such intense folly
I
at
nh that t
awecn t reallya
tactician can scarcely c
o
It is for him to rebut, promptly and publicly, the
heavy implication against him. In a light, flimsy,
and weak manner, he has given a sort of denial to 1
sthimepcpyarigs
a u
charge.
round tahe- ne
s7sicnorasrpeech at Braintree. It
declaration that the
newspapers have maligned him, and that in his place
in Parliament he will undertake to show his inno.
eence. In like manner the police reports tell us that
before the
deface." magistrate 4; the prisoner reserved hilt