The Sun.
London, England, 1864-06-23 00:00:00

LONDON, THURSDAY, JUNE 23, 1364,

Mr. HENNEssT has at all times shown himself
to be a most energetic politician. Re is not one of
tilos° laissez aller sort of individuals Who rest satis-
fied with anything so long as they themselves are
left in peace. Whether he discourses upon the
wrongs or injuries of Poland, or seeks other topics
of interest and importance, he is always energetic
and enthusiastic. On Tuesday last he had a very
congenial subject on which to descant, and it was
a question also which is closely connected with the
most vital interests of his own country, and should,
therefore, engage the attention of all who are con-
cerned in the legislation of the British Empire.
The state and condition of Ireland have for a long
period been 6ourcea of anxiety and apprehension to
the Cabinet, the Parliament, and the country gene.
rally. Sir ROBERT PEEL emphatically declared
that Irel And Was 1110 diEoulty2) sucostiog

statesmen have folt the same embarrassment, if they
have Lot had the candcar and courage to own it.

The present Ministry have not been at all happy in
their attempts in this locality, nor did they &serva
to be successful where so many wiser and great'eT
men had failed before them, for they seem to have
gone out of their way on many occasions to irritate
and annoy the Irish, and that, too, without any
special cause for interference which could justify
the risk of offending prejudices and provoking
ill-
will. The Irish members have often alluded to the
want of courtesy which has been shown to them,
and still the same tactics are displayed, their griev-
ances are treated with derision, and their indigna-
tion meets nothing but contempt. In some cases,
indeed, the authorities have gone so ftr that they
have had to draw back from their decisions, as in
the instance of the Galway contract, which was
SO abruptly terminated, and in a manner
that gave so much offence. They appear, however,
to have gained wisdom from experience in some
degree, for the tone of the debate the other night
was conspicuous for the absence of that ascerbity
and. exaggeration so apt to be apparent when Irish
questions are on the tain's, Mr. HENNESSY called
particular attention to the condition of Ireland at
the present time, and especially to the serious evils
that arise from the agricultural population leaving
the country. It is unfortunate that the division on
I the point was adverse to the proposal of Mr.
HENNESSY; but it does not by any means follow
that no result will ensue therefrom, for the discus-
sion which was raised upon it has drawn attention
to the subject, and at a future period we may mark
trio good effects that it has produced. At all events,
no one denied the truth of the hon. member's pre-
mises, if they did not exactly accord with the con-
clusions he drew from them. The fact is that the
un willingness which is universally felt to making
any changes or alteration in a system is so over-
whelming in its influence, and that unless any ape.
cial event or untoward incident calls for steps to be
taken without delay, little or no heed is paid to the
arguments, entreaties, and expostulations of pres-
cient observers or earnest reformers. A private
member can teldom manage to induce the Treasury
benches to listen to him when he proclaims the
wrongs or animadverts upon the injustice which he
has seen, and which imperatively call far a remedy.
If only a portion of Mr. HENNESSY'S recital were
true there would still exist ample grounds for the
enforcement of some remedial change. The emigre•
tion now taking place is greater than at any period
for ten years, and this in itself is a very telling fact
against the efficacy of existing legislation. It must
produce most disastrous effects, and exercise a dete-
riorating influence on the welfare of the country,
for it to be subjected to this constant drain upon its
resources. It has been said—

" 11l fares the land to hastening ills a prey,
Where wealth accumulates, and men decay."
If the former allusion does not apply to the prospects
of Ireland, it has the additional drawback of haling
to encounter the evil, unmitigated by adventitious
circumstances. Tne sug rations made by Mr. HEN,
NESSY seem to be worthy of notice. Men will not
stay at home if they see others rushing abroad, unless
some inducements are cffered to them. For this
the proposal to reclaim waste lands is an arthairable
one. Sir R. PEEL affirmed that immense quantities
had been appropriated, but there is no reason why
all should not. Another good idea was that public
works should be organised, but this did not seem
to be much thought of. When it is considered,
however, that by this means employment would be
given to vast numbers, and that many restless and
dissatidicd persons would become settled and satis.

fied in their own country, it seems a pity that
nothing should be done, Lord PALMERSTON did
not address himself to the subject with so
much cordiality es S:r ROBERT PEEL. He
seemed rather impatient with the whole thing, and
glad to fall back on the resources of his strength to
put down the attempt at interference with legisla-
tion, Lord J. MANNERS very properly said that he
thought the " hon. member for liing's County had
met with rather hard measures from the Govern-
ment." The conclusion to be drawn from the
speeches of the Government members who tcok part
in the debate seems to be that great evils undoubtedly
exist in Irelend, and that it would be well if they
could be rectified, but they also seem to imply that
they are not at present prepared to do anything to
improve the state of affairs, and also do not intend
to assist others in the task of reform. Such a course
of action is hardly in unison with the requirements
of men in their responsible position, and it is not

thus that they will gain the confidence of Ireland

nor the respect of England. They make the grave
mistake of looking upon the subject as an irksome
task they are glad to shirk, and not as a solemn

duty which they are called upon to perform with

the utmost ability and earnestness.

Amid all the changes and chances which dis-
tinguish one Parliamentary session from another,
some events recur with unvarying pertinacity. Year
by year some subjects are brought up for the mere
sake of reminding the world of their existence.
Year by year they pass through the customary
forms and quietly sink into tblivion for another
twelvemonth. We all know how long this pro-
gramme was followed by Mr. VILLIERS and his
Anti-Corn Law resolutions, and now Mr. BERKE-
LEY in his advocacy of the Ballot seems to be the
champion of as apparently hopeless a cause. Perhaps
indeed the case of the Ballot is even more desperate
than the principles of Free Trade ever were, since
thelmter was more of a national question on which
men differed as much from principle and conviction
as from anything
else. The Ballot is a personal
matter, a
an- the objection to it, in too many in-
alances, arises from a well-fennded misgiving as to
its Effect upon future elections. Of course we are
n oEtR
Kcharging every member who opposes Mr.
BERKELEY'S motion with being a friend to bribery
ELEy
and corruption, but there isyery often an undefined
idea that matters are best left es they are, and that
any interference with the existing system is need.
lees and undesirable. Yet no one pretends that
by our present course we can boast of securing the
purity of election. No one is sanguine or simple
enough to believe that the whole expense of an
election lies in the regular fees. No One supposes
that no more money changes hands than is abso.
lately necessary, or that interest and influence,
'that patrons,employers, and landlords have no share
in the matter. Pocket boroughs were not all die.
franchised in 1832, although one of the great
leaders of that day now tells his followers "to rest
and be thankful." But a general who desires his
forces to sit down when the battle is half won,
does not inspire much confidence in his own troops,
nor does he strike much terror into the hearts of
his enemies,. especially when a very important part
of the work remained to be done. Mr. BERKELEY,
who, in consideration of the approaching election
broke through his usual rule and addressed the
Home, referred to this famous aphorism. He said
the noble lord had a right to call upon them to be
thankful for his exertions, but when he told all
other reformers to sit still tho advice savoured of
absurdity. Were there, then, asked the hon. mem-
ber, no abuses to redress, no evils to get rid of ? Had
England become 'Utopian ? According to the acel
count given by Mr. BERKELEY, which there is no
rigiscal to 0401; exaggerated, it ie very like tho

Utopia of Bribery and Treating. The act at present

existing to secure the purity of elections is a mere
dead letter. It compe's the candidate to appoint
recognised agents, and any act of bribery, intimida-
tion, or corruption proved against them or against
himself made the election void. But he must be a
very simple mortal who does not see without the
telling, that while one or two immaculate agents
keep strictly within the letter and spirit of the
law, a cicz f.n unrecognised and unofficial emissaries
may be promising, treating, and feasting to
their heart's content. No one can prevent the
candidate's friends from working on his behalf,
no one but the friends themselves can prove when
the little sum given in recognition of their services
is handed over to them, and if we are to wait until
they are sufficiently frank and disinterested to come
forward with that information, we fear that purity
of elections is yet a long way off. The strongest
opponents of the Ballot do not pretend to say that
our elections are what they should be. Lord PAL-
MERSTON himself discreetly left that point out of
his very inconclusive arguments. Mr. BERKELEY
said that that all he asked for the Ballot was a fair
trial, and he might have retorted the favourite
accusation of his adversaries, and have added that
it was " nu-English" to refuse it. But in fact, as
the hon. gentleman observed, "assertion is no argu-
ment." It is very easy to declare that the Ballot
would entirely fail to do what it Las done in every
country where it has been fairly tried ; to declare
that it would have no effect in stopping
bribery and protecting against intimida-
tion, but if so why not settle the
matter by giving practical proof. Why not let the
supporters of the Ballot be convinced by practice ?
No very great harm could ensue if the experiment
proved a signal failure; it could scarcely make mat•
tern worse than they are now. How many of the
members of this very high-minded and honourable
house would like to look too closely into the full
details of their electioneering agents, paid and un-
paid, official and unrecognised ? But the very fact
of the Ballot being so much needed is the greatest
obstacle to its introduction. Members and chiefs
of parties are afraid to trust to uninfluenced voting,
and Lord PALMERSTON, its open and recognised
enemy, does not attempt to deny that cur elections
need reform, but contents himself with assertions
that it would be useless. First, the noble lord says
that it would be necessary to make it penal for a
man to say how he was going to vote; next, he
declares it would be no good to have ballot boxes,
because " it is nczt to impossible that a majority of
electors should vote by ballot without their votes
being known. Ho further argued that it would be
to protection against bribery and intimidatioc, be-
cause the landlord or customer might go to a man
before or after the election and ask about his vote,
when, if he refused to answer, the landlord or cue.
tomer would know the worst, and that "you might
go to an elector and say, Here is £5 or £lO. I
trust to your honour—you shall have the money

you promise to vote for so and so, but not other■
wise." Lord PALMERSTON is of opinion that the
electors would keep their promise, and thus the
merit of the Ballot is at an end. It is somewhat
surprising that instead of " Hear, hear" following
this declaration we do not read "Laughter." Does
the noble Premier, after his long experience of the
world and its ways, really believe business, espe-
cially dishonest business, to be carried on in this
Quixotic fashion ? Certainly there is an old adage
about " honour among thicvcs" which comes to
mind, but still it must be a somewhat credulous
candidate who would trust so magnanimously to
the good faith of a bribed elector when he could
not even reproach the man for his dishonesty. If
candidates and agents like to waste their money
let them do so, and these very "English" electors
who keep their word so strictly in ilv; breaking
may profit by another old adage about some people
and their money being soon pared, but the Ballot

has a right to a trial for all that. The man who
takes bribes will neither stop for falsehoods nor
for broken pledges, and so the world at large very
well knows. But since Lord PALMERSTON stands
forwardias the logical annihilator of the Ballot, let

him answer us one question—Why is it ezniu

sive:y adopted in the clubs

Marshal Pelissier on Russian Barbarism,

The late Marshal Pelissier had a great regard for
Colonel Sigismund Sicrakowski, who, it will be
remembered, was one of the first victims of Moura-
vieff during the Polish insurrection last year. The
marshal made the acquaintance of the gallant Polish
officer in Algiers, whither Sierakowski had been

sent by the Russian Minister for War, Milutyn, for
the purpose of studying the criminal code of the
French army; When he first presented himself to
the marshal the latter received him coldly, thinking
he was a Russian, but on learning he was a Pole he
immediately changed his manner, and conceived
such a liking for him that the next day he offered
him apartments in his palace, where they frequently
passed the evening together in conversation no the

Crimean war, the state of the Russian army, and
the reforms which Sierakowski was about to in-
troduce into it. On terminating his mission Sie-
rakowski 'returned home. The insurrection broke
cut a few weeks after, and his heroic achieve-
°ants in the insurgent army, so suddenly
put a stop to by his dreadful death, are
well known. " I shall never forget," said ote
of the late marshal's aide-de-camp in Paris the
other day, " that evening on which a bundle of the
last Paris papers, which had just arrived from Mar-
seilles by the mail boat, was brought to the marshal.
There were several of us assembled in the drawing-
room, and each taking a paper eagerly devoured the
news of the Polish insurrection. Suddenly the
marshal, who was reading the Patrie, struck the
table a tremendous blow with his fist, and broke the
silence with his stentorian voice, exclaiming, 'Mak;
c'est nne horreur, c'est une infamie !' Being as yet
ignorant of what had occurred, we all turned round
with surprise, and observed an expression of ex-
treme indignation and anger on the marshal's face.
bien,' he continued after a pause, vous avez
tons contra et aims, comme moi, cc brave officier
Sierakowaki, qui a etc ici rant ere pass6—l© mal-
heurenx jeune homme, it n'eziste plus! Moursvieff
l'a fait assaainer avec une ccrauto digne d'un can-
nibale.' He then threw the paper on the ground,
betraying the most violent indignation in every
movement. Finally, after exclaiming several
times, Quo pense l'Empereur, comment pent-il
rester indiGrent en face de toutes ces barbaries r
he went into his bed-room, where be remained,
refusing to see any one, the whole evening."

MARRIAGE OF MR. HENRY AILI3ANKE AND LADY
SUSAN OSBORNE. —On few occasions has St.
George's, Hancver-rquare, been attended by a more nu-
merous company than that which assembled yesterday
morning on the occasion of the marriage of Mr Henry Mil.
banke to Lady Susan C sorgiana Godolphin Osborne, eldest
daughter of the Duke of Leeds. The church was in fact
almost filled before eleven o'clock. The bridegroom arrived
soon after eleven, attended by his " best man," Mr Sykes,
and in a short time afterwards the bride was conducted into
the church by her noble father the Duke of Leeds, and by
12 bridesmaids, namely :—Ladies Emma, Charlotte, and
Blanche Osborne, her sisters; Hon. Blanche Pitt, daughter
of Lord and Lady Rivers; Miss Osborne, daughter of Lord
and Lady Francis Osborne; Idiss Hervey, four Misses
Milbanke, and two Misses Coores, nieces of the bride-
groom. The ceremony was performed by the Hon, and
Rev. S. G. Osborne, and at its conclusion the register was
attested in the Vestry by the Duke of Leeds, the Marquis of
Carmarthen, and Mr Milbanke, ecn. About 3 o'clock in
the afternoon the newly-married pair left town for New•
stead Abbey, Notts. The bride's presents from the Duchess
of Cleveland, the Duchess of Leeds, Mr and Lady Au-
gusta Milbanke, Lord Harry Vane, Lady Alvanley, the
Marquis and Marchioness of Carmarthen, and Frances
Ana MatchiMOS Of lioladwierrY IMO 7490 t beautiTui EtPd