The Sun.
London, England, 1838-01-09 00:00:00

MEETING ON THE BALLOT.

On Tuesday evening Mr. Prentice delivered an address on
the subject of the Ballot in Mr. Ryland's Cloth-hall, no other
pace of sufficient size being to be found in the town, the large
r )oms being principally attached to houses in the Tory inte-
rest. There were between 300 and 403 l ersons p e_ent, being
about as many as could hear owing to the peculiar construction
of the room.

JOHN RYLANDS, Esq., the father of Reform in the borough,
being called to the Chair, addressed the meeting, and having
characterised the Ballot es not only a great reform in itself,
but as likely to be the means of obtaining other reforms, in-
troduced Mr. Prentice, who had been invited to come there
and address them on the subject.

Mr. PRENTICE began by saying that it had been as-
serted in a Saturday's paper that the Radicals of Wigan
thought the ngitation for the Ballot only a Whig trick to
divert attention from ot: 0- reforms. This was the most
abtend cry that ever had Leen got up to stop the progress
of Reform, and he could not believe in the honesty of
those who raised it. When the Whigs obstructed any move-
ment they had most zealous coadjutors amongst the Tories, .
and he was quite sure that if the latter believed that the Bal-
lot would divert attention from other Reform, they would
have provided the best place of meeting in ell Warrington fur
his lecture. lie was addressing persons..who perfectly well
knew that under the Ballot at last election Mr. Davenport
would have been returned instead of Mr. Blackburne. Mr.
Davenport was for an extension of the Suffracre ; and Mr.
Blackburne was against it. For want of the Ballot, there-
fore, Warrington recorded one vote against extension, in-
s'ead of one for it, making a difference of two in a divi-
sion. Was there amongst them a single person then who
thought that, to obtain the Ballot, would retard an extension
of the Suffrage ?—( No, no.) What urged the Reform elec-
tors in the late contest to saer'fice their time and their labours,
and in some instances even their bread, but the desire to ad-
vance their own principles? And who would believe that when
they had obtained the Ballot they would abandon those prin-
ciples for the silly pride of being an exclusive body of la
voters? They m,ght have a Lare majority, but instead of
saying " we shall rest contented with a doubtful victory,"
they would say "let us have the honest householders, and
then we:shall beat the Tories by four to one."—(Cin ers.)
Mr. Prentice went en to advocate the Ballot as an cffecti at
mode of forwarding other reforms, and said that the real
objection to it was the fear of the Aristocracy, both Wuig
and Tory, that when the slender portion of the people
that were now represented could vote without the fear of
punishment, there would not only be an extension of the
Suffrage but a repeal of the Corn-laws, and a sweeping away
of sinecures in the state, the army, the navy, and the church,
the receptacles of the idle younger branches of arittrerric fa-
milies. At the conclusion of his address, which lasted an
hour, he was greeted with loud cheers.
The CHAIRMAN, in putting to the meeting a motion fcr a
vote of thanks to Mr. Prentice, said that no one could say
that it had been a meeting of Whigs to divert attention from
reform, for if half of what Mr. Prentice had said had been
uttered twenty years ago, they would all have had the bmefit
of a Light's lodgings under luck and key, and been sent off
next morning to Lancaster Castle.--(Cheers and laughter.)
The motion being carried by acclamation, and three ekeers
being given for the Ballot, the meeting separated.—Man-
chester Times.

CHURCU-RATES.

(From theSomcrset County Gazette.)

There arc few who have not read or heard of the oppresive
measures to which hulk iduals have been sulj,cted in conse-
quence of the law respecting Church-rates. But though
Oleic are few who have not read or heard the accounts of such
transactions, there are many who have not seen, and we trust
will never see, such a spectacle of it.tohrance, under the Lame
and for the sake of religion, as was exhiLited at Chard, on
Tuesday, Dec. 26.
The urn of oppression has been stretched out to
persecutico, mid the rod which has descended on some is said
to he in pickle for ethers. Altn have been de-Toiled of their
goods to pay for repairing a building which they nos - attend.
For some years the Church-rate has been successfully re-
sisted at Chard, but at the last vestry meeting the late was
carried. Some who opposed it bare bout frightened into
pa3ing it. Some nho refused to i•ay it, and determined to let
the law take i:s course, have had their rate paid, contrary to
tier own express and well-known wishes, by friends who acted
from false and mistaken, though well-meant, feelings of kind.
ness and regard Others, not being blessed with such friends,
and being resolved not to pa., Lave had their goods taken by
the authority of a warrant. Some of these goods were sold
by public Auction, in the market-place, at Chard, on Tues-
day, Dee,mtarr 26. The things belonged to various persons
in the parish of Chard, acid some of them were the follow-
ing :—Two fid-lles, which were sold for not half the value
of one ; a chaff-cutter and a table also w, re sold for much less
than half what they were wcath ; a saddle, which cog a Lute
while ago 4/. or U. was sold fur 255. '1 hi; saddle was bought
by a well-known Tory landlord of the town. We wish lint
jo:, of his prize : no d0...1a he thi..ks it a fine bargain ; may he
lire long to enjoy it, and never have cause to repent having
bought his neighhour's property so c' caply. We have no
doubt he will drive few more such bargains even Hilo do• s not
ide The poor 011'Ottunate baililr, v h , was d to
act as auctionet r, appeal-id mire than lull as'.axted f job.
I! was quite pitiable to sec so strong a man, so hrave a balifr, s,rni
pale and trembling with fear and shame. lie seemed heavily
glad when it was over, and we humbly hope he will never have
occasion to exhibit himself in such a character age in.

O:: the doors of a certain parish Church, :lot a
hur.dred mies from Wycombe, was ree,ntly affixt.d the flint.
lug n.lice:—" Ihe church...raid-11s i 1 hold tintulcrly
axed, gi o,lce in six neelv, instead of h If 3 ea-ly, as fie

_
On Sunday laa a line turlio Was un On: north
shore, at the entrance of Po'ie harbou-, by a man belontring
to the Preventive Coast Guard station. The animal, to all
probability, had crept overLoard, or been thrown into the sea
from some homeward-bound Indianian. The turtle, which
was alive, weighed three cwt., and was of the amazing size of
five feet in length ; it is supposed to be the largest ever seen in
this country.

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