The Sun.
London, England, 1853-05-12 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, THUNSDAT EVIENING, MAY 12, 185-3.

finitely. worse than with us in this respect.
Hundreds and thousands of postmasters and
minor Government officials are actually turned
out, though already in, to make room for the
nominees of a new Cabinet. This kind of bribery
there is a perfect matter of course. Hardly any
one complains of it but the actual sufferers.
Aristocratic England contrasts most favourably on
this point with democratic America, for we hardly
recollect a case of subordinates, whose livelihood
depends on their employment, being ejected by a
new Ministry. It were, of course, exceedingly
desirable that Government appointments of every
kind should be decided by merit solely. This,
however, seems to be impossible with an elective
Government. Undisturbed despotism can look
simply to the qualifications of its agents. But
where opinion is the virtual governor of a country,
it seems necessary that agreement in opinion with
the Government should be considered at least one
qualification for office under it. The old rule,
eadern de republica sentire, to hold the same po-
litical creed, cannot well be dispensed with. Of
course, the rule is wholly out of the question
where the public service would suffer by it. It
can only apply where, amongst equally-qualified
candidates, some would be supporters of, some
opponents of, the existing Government. What-
ever the right or wrong of the case, it is certain
that every Constitutional and Republican Govern-
ment will give the turn of the scale to those who
uphold it. Sir F. SMITH'S offence, therefore,
was in the line in which Members are, most of all,
expected to befriend their supporters. His error,
his great error, we admit, was in bestowing the
situation at a time when every one but himself
perceived that it became a bribe to GREATHEAD'S
father to keep his promise to vote for him. But
of the practice, the ab-
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in j theury
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a
se to the public service,
the frank and gentlemanly way in which Sir FRE-
DERIC treated every promise, even against him,
as a settled case, and might, therefore, naturally
think GREATHEAD'S vote already secured, and the
almost impossibility of a candidate's setting
temptation at defiance in the Dockyards, we do
think it would have been hard upon Sir FREDERIC
to make a public example of him. Indeed, we
do not think a jury would have convicted ; and,
in addition to all, his punishfuent has already
been abundantly severe. With impartial men it
is the system which is in fault, and Sir FREDERIC
is its victim. No doubt he is guilty, but about
as much as most of us would have been in the same
position. We only hope that he, and all who
take lenient views of his case, will be honest
enough to become staunch advocates of the Ballot.
We dislike the whole system of disfranchising
persons employed by the Government. Why
should Government be served by electoral eunuchs?
To most Englishmen losing their political privi-
leges is losing half their better energy ; losing
their interest in the chief thing which gives
them a thought and a life beyond their nearest
and selfish interests. Bribery is most to be
hated as converting that to narrow selfishness
which ought to be expansive patriotism. Let us
not, however, destroy the motive to patriotic
feeling because it can be tampered with ; let us
place rather the one great and obvious barrier in
the path of the corrupter. If the Ballot be re-
fused everywhere else, let its virtue be tried on
Dockyard constituencies, at least, before they are
finally disfranchised.

COURT CIRCULAR.

OSBORNE, WEDNESDAY.

The Queen and Prince took their usual early walk
yesterday morning. The Princess Helena and Princess
Louisa drove out in the afternoon in an open carriage.
The royal dinner party yesterday included the Earl of
Clarendon and Sir Edwin Landseer, who has arrived on
a visit.