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

finitely worse than with us in this respect.
Hundreds and thousands of postmasters awl
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,
eadein de republics 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
what with the frequency of the practice, the ab-
sence of injury in this case 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 punishment 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 e'en carriage.
The royal dinner party yesterday included the Earl of
Clarendon and Sir Edwin Landseer, who has arrived on
a visit.

Lord Clarendon returned this afternoon to London.

The Duchess of Cambridge and the Princess Mary
visited the Duchess of Kent yesterday, at Clarence
House, St. James's.
The Duchess of Kent, accompanied by the Duchess of
Cambridge and the Princess Mary and the Princess Ade-
laide of Hohenlohe, and attended by Lady Anna Maria
Dawson and Lieut.-Colonel F. Seymour, honoured the
performance of the French Plays with her presence last
evening.
A deputation, consisting of Mr. Charles Turner, M.P.,
with Mr. D. Rowland, secretary to the Liverpool Pilot
Commissioners, and Mr. John Shepherd, master pilot,
had an interview with the Right Hon. E. Cardwell on
Tuesday, at the Board of Trade.
Colonel W. L. Freestun, M.P., had an interview with
the Earl of Aberdeen yesterday, at his official residence
in Downing-street.
Mrs. Chisholm had an interview with the Duke of
Newcastle yesterday, at the Colonial-office.
Earl Granville, Lord President, and the Countess
Granville, left town yesterday morning for Dublin, to
be present at the opening of the Irish Industrial Exhi-
bition.