The Sun.
London, England, 1838-04-23 00:00:00

PHUT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS

Another inundation, like a second deluge, of antießeform
oratory, has been poured forth from the Tory sinks of
Manchester and Salford, which, if not calculated to or.-
vinct the reason of the British public, by the cogency of its i
arguments, is peculiarly well adapted to overwhelm their
sense of propriety with a feeling of indignation and disgust.
The foetid bubblings of the apostate and imbecile Burdett,
of the reckless and rabid Sinclair, and of the magnilequcnt
Maidstone, are merely the offensive indications on the sur-
face which denote the existence of a foul and dangerous
combination unnerneath. These Tory pioneers are merely
sent out to ascertain the state and tendency of public
feeling, in order to afford a cue to the course and con-
duct of the more influential of their party; and in ac-
cordance to the reception given to their gaseous eructations
will be regulated the extent of opposition which will
be given to the forthcoming measures of Reform.
The itinerant Tory agitators are all men of second or
third-rate importance, whose triumph or repulse is in itself
of very little consequence ; but their peregrination, if' suc-
cessful, or rather if by any contingency its aspect should
be coloured by a favourable hue, will be cited as an evi-
dence of what has been so long called re-action ; and if,
on the contrary, this dining and devouring excursion should
prove, as it has proved, a failure, the result may be attri-
buted to the mean and contemptuous opinion entertained
towards the more prominent performers. The expedition
of Burdett, Sinclair, and Co., may therefore be regarded
as a mere experiment to ascertain the state of public opi-
nion in regard to Toryism, without committing the more
influential of the party to any specific line of policy. These
inflated spouters are mere pilot balloons sent up to ascertain
the current of the wind ; and we trust the result of their
course will afford no encosragement to the wild flights
which Toryism meditates against the welfare and liberty of
the community.—Morning Adverat'er.
The extraordinary decisione of the Hull Election Com-
mittee, to which we have several times called the atten-
tion of our readers, wail not soon be forgotten ; and the
last man from whose memory they can pass away will as-
suredly be Sir George Strickland, the Chairman of the
Committee. That enlightened and high principled Baronet
Is believed to have decided, by exercising his right to a
double vote, that an elector receiving a glass of ale and a
sandwich was guilty of bribery 1 And he is known, on
several occasions, to have given his casting vote in favour
of branding a man with the crime of bribery upon grounds
quite as frivolous. Far be it from us to say or to insinuate
that this worthy Baronet, albeit " York," has not been led
into these absurdities by want of judgment, and not by
want of honesty. It is indeed true, that at Sir George
Strickland's late election for the Riding, which we hope he
does not represent, jive shilling tickets were given
to the voters in his interest, by the Chairman of his District
Committees ; and it is not a little singular that a gentleman
who thought ss. worth of refreshments a proper quantity
for his own voters, should consider that a glass of ale
and a sandwich given to a voter at Hull constituted bribery.
We can produce, however, a still more remarkable illustra-
tion of the curious distinction which Sir George Strickland
makes between what constitutes bribery in a town, and
what does not constitute bribery in a county—between acts
which arc criminal when committed by the candidates for
Hull, and which are innocent when committed by himself
and Lord Morpeth in the West Riding of Yorkshire.
Among the many startling decisions of the Hull Committee
to which we have called the attention of the public, and to
which the attention of the House of Commons will be still
more pointedly directed at an early period, was that to which
they came in the case of George Goold, whom the petitioners
proposed to strike off the poll on the ground that he had re-
ceived a bribe for his vote. The circumstances, as they ap-
peared in evidence, and as they were detailed by us at
the time, were shortly these :—The voter was living at
Pocklington, 30 miles from Hull, at the time of the elec-
tion. He was at week there as a carrier. He came to
Hull on Saturday (the election taking place on the fol-
lowing Mondsy), and left on Tuesday morning. He had
been absent from his work, therefore, for three days ; he
had ineurred the expense of bed and board in an election
town for four days ; and he had paid the charge of his
conveyance to and from Hull, for a distance each way of
thirty miles. It appeared that on the Tuesday morning,
about 11 o'clock, previous to quitting Hull, he went, ac-
companied by a friend (not a voter), to the Blue or Con-
servative Committee-room. On the evidence of this friend
the case rested exclusively. According to his testimony,
two or three gentlemen were in the room at the time, who
were engaged in settling the accounts of the election.
The voter stated to them that he came about his expenses.
He was asked what they amounted to, and answerrd, " Two
pounds;' This sum, though not till after some demur,
fWas eventually paid him, and the voter signed a receipt
ir it. 'What was the decision of the Committee in this case ?
Why, the Committee decided that George Goold was bribed
--because he had his expenses paid for him, which every
lawyers' clerk knows to be perfectly legal, and which even
a Poor Law Commissioner would admit not to be too
highly paid at the sum of 21.—for Goold was to he reim-
bursed for sixty miles' travelling, for four days' bed and
board, in an election town, where everything is charged at
an extravagant rate, and for three days' loss of work. It
was understood, as we mentioned at the time this monstrous
decision was given by the Hull Committee, that the casting
vote of the Chairman, Sir George Strickland, carried it.
If this be true, and we never heard it denied, what will the
reader think of Sir Casting-vote Strickland, after perusing
the following circular letter, which his own Committee ad-
dressed to the freeholders of the West Riding :
" Lord Morpeth and Sir George Strickland's
Committee-room, Doncaster, July 31, 1837.
" Sir,—l am directed by the Committee for promoting the
re-election of Lord Morpeth and Sir George Strickland,
Bart., for the West Riding of Yorkshire, very respectfully, yet
earnestly, to solicit your attendance here on Thursday next, to
vote in favour of those gentlemen ; and I am directed further
to inform you, that the Committee will reimburse you the ex-
penses of coming to and returning from the election. You will
be pleased to apply at the Committee-room on your arrival.
" I am, Sir, your very obedient servant,
T•
B. MASON S.
" The election takes place" on. Thursday and, Fridayecretar nexyt."
We ask the reader's opinion, but we abstain from giving
our own, because we would rather remain at a loss for
words than be driven to borrow them from Mr. O'Connell
or Mr. Poulter.—Times.
The State paper addressed by the King of' the Nether-
lands to his Chambers, which will be found in another
column, is a most important document, and must be read
with great attention. It does not add much new matter to
the stock of information already in our hands, and commu-
nicated from time to time to the public, but it clears up and
explains many points which may have been hitherto regarded
as ambiguous, and makes known the sound and certain prin-
ciples which that staunch old Monarch relies on for the go-
vernment of his conduct. It proves that, notwithstanding
he has been treated in the most unworthy manner by the
Sovereigns of Europe, he has not forfeited his own respect,
and that he still insists on his rights in a manner that must
command their admiration. It teaches the King of Bel-
gium that Holland is not disposed to abate one iota of its
rights, and that if the question be settled it must be on
equitable grounds. What the result of the negotiations to
which the King of Holland has again referred the matter
may be we cannot pretend to anticipate. We can only
say, that we consider the Dutch and Belgian question to be
one of paramount importance, and more calculated that any
other to disturb the peace of Europe. It is, indeed, preg•
runt with danger, and it will behove the great Powers
either to let the affair rest in its present position, or to com-
pel, should they deem it necessary to interfere, Belgium to
accede to the Twenty-four Articles which have alreedy re-
ceived their sanction.—Morning Post.
It is, notoriously, the intention of the Whig cabinet, to
turn to usurious account, their present position relatively
to the court. Despised, they feel themselves to be, as the
most imbecile administrators of the functions of Govern-
ment who ever brought a great monarchy into danger—yet
still they hope, that the contempt and disgust which attach
to them as Ministers of the Crown, may be swallowed up
in the eclat which they trust will attend them, as keepers
of the royal person. Hence the scheme of parading the
Queen, during the autumn, throughout Ireland and
Scotland. The object of the Whigs is, if possible, to
throw the responsibility of their knavery and folly, on any
shoulders that will consent to hear it—whilst they content
themselves with the pay and patronage of office. When
their blundering Canada Bill was introduced into the House
of Commons, Lord John Russell besought Sir Robert Peel
to take half of the responsibility which would attach to
approbation of that measure. When Lord Durham's
mission was under discussion, the responsibility of the
appointment was in that manly and constitutional spirit
for which Whigs are distinguished, laid by the Queen's
advisers at the Queen's door. In like manner, do the
Whigs desire to connect with the Queen's announced
visit to Ireland, the responsibility of a direct approval
by the Queen, of the Whig policy towards that portion
of her dominions. Never, assuredly, was there exhibited
official degradation so complete as the degradation of Lord
Melbourne and his associates. They dare
a long dare not defend
h,time they
their Irish policy on its own merits.
tried to defend it, on the "round that it was in
conformityte
with " the wants and wishes of the great body
of the
people. They came into office, they "
alleged,
for
no other
purpose, than to give effect to apopular policy in re-
gard to the Irish church. Yet, mark the sequel. They
have
sneakingly, rithiegishiy, abandoned that policy, which they
described as " ;titer to the best interests of the k ingi om
and still they are not ashamed to remain
in those offices,
which they are now proved to have obtained on false pre-
tences. Having abandoned their " popular" policy to-
wards that unfortunate country, over which Mr. O'Con-
nell's representative affects to act the viceroy, titor propose
to procure toleration yet a little longer tar their system of