The Sun.
London, England, 1853-06-02 00:00:00

ELECTION CO.

•(THIS DAY.)

CLARE COUNTY.

At the sitting of the committee,
Francis Conolly, a butcher, of? Ennis, stated he had
been present when an agreement was made between
Mr. Macnamara, Sir John Fitzgerall, and the Butchers'
Guild, of Ennis, for their services. Their instructions
were to head the mob, and to give no quarter to any
man who interfered in the election for Col. Vandeleur.
They were "to use their discretion, and strike any such
man, gentle or simple, on the head, to knock him down,
and kick him for falling." By "giving no quarter,"
witness explained that he meant that " they were not to
spar& any such man, but to leather him well." They
were to use stones and sticks, and even knives, to terrify
Vandeleur's voters. They were to have 301. for their
services, which was to be divided among 75 of them.

BURY ST. EDMUNDS.

This committee sat for the first time this morning ;
Mr. Walpole in the chair. The member petitioned
against is Mr. Oakes. _ _

The counsel for the petitioners are Mr. Sergeant
Kinglake, Mr. E. James, and Mr. Hawkins ; for the
sitting member, Mr. O'Malley and Mr. Rodwell.
Mr. E. James, who opened the case for the petition-
ers, stated that the allegations of the petition were
bribery by direct pecuniary payments, and also by the
payment of publicans' bills, treating by opening public-
houses to the voters, and by numerous dinners given by
Mr. Oakes, for which tickets were given to the Conser-
vative voters. There had also been a performance at the
Bury theatre, for which the Conservative voters re-
ceived tickets, at which the performances were, the
learned counsel remarked " The Country Squire, in
honour of Mr. Oakes, and the Unfinished Gentleman, in
honour of whom he could not say."

SLIGO.
In this case Mr. Sergeant Kinglake occupied the en-
ire morning in opening the case for the petitioners.

The Liverpool and Peterborough committees also sat,
but there was no evidence of importance.

FRENCH PLAYS.

The appearance of Mademoiselle Rachel, last night,
attracted the fullest house of the season. Every desira-
ble place was occupied ; the private boxes presented an
animated and interesting aspect, and there was generally
that kind of excitement among the audience which is
only to be found on great occasions.
The Ph,edre of Racine, when first brought to the
notice of the Londoners, some 12 years ago, came as a
sort of literary curiosity. It had been read as a French
lesson, but no one had a notion of seeing it put on the
stage iu a visible shape, and the educated portion of the
audience loved to compare it with the plays of Euripides
and Seneca written on the same subject. Now, thanks
to the frequent engagements of Mademoiselle Rachel,
it has become as familiar to a certain section of the
public as Hamlet or Othello. The progress of the action
is admitted as a matter of course, and an audience of
three years' standing knows as well how to look for the
several " points" which the play affords as an habitue of
the lyrical drama knows how to pick out the favourite
songs of an opera.
Mademoiselle Rachel has lost none of her supremacy
over her hearers ; she is still the impersonation of
passion, decorated, but not weakened, by all the refine-
ments of histrionic art.