The Sun.
London, England, 1849-09-27 00:00:00

.06
(141' t

LONDON, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 1849.

Our Protectionist contemporaries have been sing-
ing " their song of triumph" in honour of Mr.
EVELYN'S return somewhat prematurely. They will
not be Permitted to derive the advantages which
t ey z ntic'pated from the " courtesy" of Mr. EDGELL ;
their vaulting ambition hath oierl,-apt itself ;
through overeagerness they hove, while grasping
at gthe shadow, :missed " the suhstance:; thinking
only of the courtesy of Mr. EDGELL, they
have forg Aten the more weighty requirements
of the 11. w, and the consequence is, that the election
is a void Cetion—that the battle will have to be
fought orer again, and when so fought, the Liberals,
warned by the lessons of the past, will take care so
to choose their candidate as not to be again forced,
in consequence of his secession, to change their
.who'e order of battle, in the face of the enemy, on the
eve of the combat, and there can be no doubt but
t,at when the real elt ction comes West Surrey will
do its duty, and return a staunch Liberal as suck
ce,sor to Mr. DENISON.

The history of the proceedings of yesterday at the
polling-booth at Godalming is one which will be
henceforth celarated in the annals of elections. At
the nomination, which took place on Saturday, Mr.
EDGELL was, on a show of hands, declared by the
sheriff to be chosen Knight of the, Shire for West
Surrey, whereupon a poll was demanded on the part
of Mr. EVELYN, and the said poll was appointed by
the Sheriff to take pl ice on Tuesday and Wednesday,
the 25th and 26:h of September. At the
conclwion of the day's polling on Tuesday, Mr.
EDGELL, being at that time in a small minority, inti-
mated " in the most courteous manner," his intention
not to pursue the con test any further, an intimation
which was conveyed at once to Mr. EVELYN'S com-
mittee, and also to the High Sheriff, whereupon the
latter functionary, thinking only of the candidates,
and caring nothing for the c3nstituency, made no ar-
rangement whatever for taking the poll on the Wed-
nesday, in consequence of which the electors of West
Surrey were deprived of an opportunity of register-
ing their votes. Among the electors thus disfran-
chised through the ladies of the Sheriff, is Mr.
JAMES Low, of Gracechurch-street, who tendered his
vote at ten minutes before nine A m yesterday morn-•
ing at the polling-place at Godalming, but found that
there were no officials at the booth to register the
vote so tendered, whereupon Mr. Low served the
following protest upon the Sheriff:—

" I, James Low, o' No. 30, :Gracecburch•street, in
the city of London, a freeholder of the western division
of the county of Surrey, in the presence of James Foster,
of Godalming, grocer, proceeded to the polling-booth in
Godalming, appointel to receive the votes of the voters
for that division for the election of a Member to repre-
sent the western division of Surrey in Parliament, to
tender my vote, on Wednesday, this 26th day of Sep-
temb?r, 1849, at ten minutes before nine o'clock, A.m.,
and found neither returning officer nor poll clerk to re-
ceive my rote. In consequence of which I protest
against the legality of such election, the Sheriff
naming the election to commet.ce on Tuesday, the
25th of September, from nine o'clock, a,m., to four
o'crock, P.M., and on Wednesday, the 26th, at eight
o'clock in the morning., finally closing at four Pal.
. _ _

" Dated this 26. h day of September, 1849.
P "To William Francis Gamut Farmer, Elq., Sheriff for
th© county of Surrey, Nonsuch Park, near Epsom.
" JAMES Low.

" Witness—J. L. roster."
There cannot be a doubt but that Mr. Low is right
in his law, and that the election is altogether void.
It is not ip the power of any candidate when the poll
is once commenced to, strictly speaking, resign ; he
is in the hands of the electors, and if the electors
choose to elect him, albeit- such election may be
against his .express wishes, he cannot re-
fuse to serve, he cannot resign his seat, and
the only method by which he can rid himself of his
responsibilities as a representative of the people is by
the performance of some act, such as acceptance of
office under the Crown, which shall render him
incapable of serving in Parliament. Under the old
law, when there was but one polling-place for the
whole county, the sheriff had the power of
closing the poll whenever one full hour bad
elapsed without a vote being tendered, and the usual
practice was, on nn intimation being made by one of
the candidates of his intention to resign, for all to
abstain polling for an hour, when the sheriff could
legally' close the poll:: but under the present
system, when there are a multidude of polling-
places at great distances from each other,
it would be manifestly impossible to observe
any such rule, because, if within the hour a
single vote is tendered at any one polling-place, that
and all the other polling-places must be kept open
`until an hour shall have elapsed from the time that

such vote was recorded. In the present case, how-
ever, that question does not arise, inasmuch as Mr.
Low tendered his vote exactly ten minutes before
the conclusion of what should have been the first
hour of the polling. All those who value purity of
election are under great obligations to Mr. Low for
having thus protested sgainst a practice which,
if suffered to become a. precedent, would
open a door to fraudulent collusions of such
a character as to render every election a
mockery. We trust that Mr. Low will not permit
the matter to rest here, but that he will appeal to
the House of Commons against the illegal conduct
of the returning officer, and victoriously vindicate
the great constitutional principle of which he is now
the champion.

Considerable discussion, some ill-blood, and a large
amount of vituperation have recently been excited by
the course adopted by Mr. MORE O'FER&ALL in
reference to the treatment of certain Italian refugees.
As Governor of the Island of Malta—one of the most
important, and perhaps the most efficiently garrisoned,
among the British possessions-in the Mediteranoan—
it was conceived that his Excellency might have
acted differently, and by so doing have ameliorated
the condition of the unfortunate, while he enhanced
the glory already acquired by England as an empire
of the most eclectic benevolence, and of the most
unbounded hospitality. Cordially, fully, unrestrictedly,
and most unconditionally, do we coincide in the
feelings, and sympathise with the reasoning, which
prompted these general expressions of indignation.
Our sentiments with reference to the fugitives from
the Roman peninsula are, we imagine, by this time
tolerably well known ; therefore we shall not tarry
to descant upon that point of the subject now under
our consideration. What we look to, and what we
would now lay clearly and directly under the obser-
vation of the public, are the simple facts of the case
upon which so many angry comments have been
lavished, and which in some unfortunate instances has

evoked the most abusive personalities. Now, as to
these same facts, they no longer remain matters of
conjecture. They glare upon our recognition with
the distinctness of occurrences officially announced,
that announcement being, moreover, endorsed by the
signature of the First Minister of the Crown. An
admirable letter emanating from the Honourable Gen-
tleman the representative of Montrose, as Chairman
of a Committee of Members of Parliament formed in
aid of the Italian refugees, demanded from the chief
Ministerial adviser of the SOVEREIGN some explanation
as to the light in which the conduct of the Governor of
Malta was viewed by the Administration. Nobly
was it remarked by Mr. HUMS, that " amidst all the
diversities of opinion, in this and in former times, con-
cerning the foreign policy of our country, there is
one rule of conduct which has been invariably ob-
served, and has met with universal and heartfelt
assent, namely—that of extending a generous and
fearless hospitality to political exiles of every class,
from every country, and of every cause." The pre-
sent position of so many distinguished exiles in these
islands affords a striking corroboration to the assertion.

For amongst the refugees in England alone

we could enumerate Princes and Dema-
gogues, Dukes and Prime Ministers, Socialists
and Aristocrats, the claimants of crowns,
and men who have worn the purple and the diadem.
iWe could point to great soldiers who have headed
' insurrections" in Catalonia, and great statesmen who
have directed the councils of the Tuileries. We could
direct attention to General ESPARTERO, now living in
honourable seclusion on his patrimonial estates, and
to the President BONAPARTE, now presiding over the
democratic institutions of the French Republic, as
among those who have tasted, in England, the sweets
of liberty amidst the bitterness of expatriation. But
the matter requires not to be thus authenticated. It
is a subject of renown throughout Europe. It is a
jewel brighter than any glittering on the regalia of
VICTORIA. It is the most resplendent of
the many resplendent glories of old Eng-
land. Consequently it was with peculiar
emphasis that the Member for Montrose demanded,
in the name of the proverbial hospitality of England
to exiles, some definitive explanation from the hand
of the First Lord of the Treasury. Nor was that
noble statesman tardy in responding to a call, such as
must have found ready access to a heart beating with
the blood which an illustrious ancestor shed, in the
holy cause of freedom, upon the block and upon the
scaffuld. The reply ef Lord JOHN RUSSELL to the
letter addressed to him by Mr. HussE must for ever
set at rest the matter so long under discussion. It at
once avouches the devotion of the present Government
to those principles of action which have rendered
England the haunt of the refugee and the shelter of
the unfortunate, while it exonerates Mr. MORE
OTERRALL from any of the blame attached to him
by his assailants :
" The Governor of Malta," says the Premier, " was
of opinion that although tho refugees from Rome (not
Roman refugees, in great part) might safely be allowed
to proceed to England, he could not be responsible for
their remaining in Malta. They were therefore detained,
on board ship for some ten days or a fortnight, with the
exception of the sick, and of the women and children,
who were allowed to land."

Had the observations of the Prime Minister gone
no further than this, the last sentence would have
been a satisfactory and conclusive evidence that his
Excellency the Governor of Malta had in no respect
violated the sacred principles of humanity. But the
Noble Lord proceeds to the effect that, although the
presence of these refugees from the Roman peninsula
might be perfectly consistent with the peace and
security of London, it vvas very far from being con-
sistent with the peace and good government of the
island of Malta.

" After all," says the Premier in conclusion, " what
has been the hardship iLflicted? Theso persons were
in no danger of their lives while they were on board a
French vessel. They were not detained longer than a
vess,l put in quarantine. They took their passages to
England, or to Greece, if they chose. They were pre-
vented from disturbing Malta, and that was all. Lord
Grey has, therefore, with my full concurrence, expressed
his approbation of the course pursued by the Governor
of Malta."

Whatever, therefore, may be thought even by the
bitterest personal antagonist of Mr. MORE O'FER-
RALL (and, by the way, he is peculiarly favoured
with an abundance of those social musquitoes), it
must be sufficiently manifest after this that his
Excellency has acted with the entire concurrence of
the Government, with the approbation of the Foreign
Secretary, and the approval of the Prime Minister.
It would be sufficient for the distinguished gcntle-
man who represents her Britannic MAJESTY in the
centre of, the Mediterranean Sea to point to the
deliberate applause bestowed upon him in this
instance by the supreme Government. It is his
good fortune, however, to be enabled to do
more in tesamony of his honour, of his liberality,
of his patriotism, of his integrity, and of his
intelligence. lie can demand the scrutiny of his
contemporaries upon a career, not only marked by
the tokens of singular ability and uprightness, but
unsullied by a single act unbecoming a liberal
statesman, or (an expression of equivalent mean-
, ing) a truly English diplomatist. No doubt Mr. MORE
O'FERRALL was selected in the first instance as a
man representing the Roman Catholics of the
United Kingdom—(and it is honourable to the
Roman Catholics as a body to 'have produced such a
representative)—yet is he no sectarian. Of this his
political life, ever since his first election at Kildare, is
an ample testimony. Turning, however, from re_
marks that, with the majority, are pre_
posterously superfluous, it will be enough
for us to direct attention to the assistance
afforded at Malta to the passengers on board the
Concordia, some of whom were transferred to pon-
toons, and others (the sick) to the Lazaretto, in
token that the Governor of that island was neither
inhuman nor inexorable.

Very shortly, no doubt, England will be afforded
an opportunity of displaying her hospitality not only
to the Italian refugees, but also to the fugitive
Hungarians. How far the country w ill proceed in
accordance with its wonted generosity, it is impos-
sible of course to predict with any degree of
particularity. But of this we are satisfied, that
it is not exactly at such a crisis as the present that
the people of our island will begin to evince any
diminution of their munificence. No, the population
of Britain have not reserved an example of national
niggardliness for the middle of the nineteenth century
—an Epoch when Reaction has assumed such a
haughty and domineering attitude all over the con-
t n
when, after the superb rising of Demo-
conspiracy an
a brut, force have triN,
c n ecy t In
1 8 4 8 , d