The Sun.
London, England, 1840-01-25 00:00:00

150
120

A QUARTER PAST TEN.
182
162

Murray
Fox ..,

DEV ONPORT.
DEFEAT OF THE OFTEN DEFEATED.
(From the Plymouth Journal.)
The Reform candidate for Devonport has gained a vic-
tory over the Right Honourable Mr. Dawson—we give
his out-of-doors title, which it is hoped will never be ap-
plied to hint in Parliament. At the close of the Poll the
majority in favour of Mr. Tuffnell was 231 ; and that, in
spite of his opponent's Bacchanalian orgies, widely ex-
tended throughout the Borough among some Members of
his Committee and the profligate portion of the consti.
tuency. Thus, unworthy means are worthily rewarded.
What is to become of this nut-of-doors Right Honourable
Gentleman we know not; but as he appears to possess an
uncommon relish for the pastime of being defeated, it may
be expected we shall hear of him again in 11),Try.
In this triumph of Mr. Tuffnell, or rather of the cause
dear to every reformer, let its not forget Mr. Leach, whose
conduct, including that of his friends, has foiled the at-
tempt to misrepresent Devonport. Certainly Mr. Leach
stands on as high ground as Mr. Tuffnell, except that he
cannot write M. P. after his name ; but, on a future occa-
sion, we trust, he will possess that distinction.

THURSDAY AFTERNOON.
STATE OF THE POLL.
NINE &CLOCK.

Tuffnell
.:.
Dawson ... ..
227
TEN O'CLOCK.

Tuffnell
Dawson

600
548

NEWARK.
FRIDAY AFTERNOON.

The nomination ton!: place yesterday. The candi-
dates were accompanied to the hustings by their re-
spective frinds. Among aose of the Solicitor-General
were Sir R. Heron, John Handley, Erq., T. E. Brie-
towe, Esq., Mr. Hose, Mr. Massey, &c. Mr. Thesiger
was accompanied by Lord Lincoln, Messrs. Godfrey,
Thorpe, Burnell, Welby. T. Manners Sutton, Wilmot,
Welling, &c. Equal confidence seems to animate both
parties. Disturbances are expected. A troop of dra-
goons are within a few miles, having been marched spe-
cially from Nottingham.
After the writ had been read, and the usual prelimin-
aries gone through,
JOIIN HANDLEY, Esq., came forward to propose the
Solicitor-General, and Mr. MAssEr seconded the no-
mination.

'F. GODFREY, Esq., after a very high culogiurnn
Mr. Sergeant Wilde's character as a private gentleman,
but whom he felt compelled to oppose upon principle,
proposed Mr. 11,ssiger, and JAMES THORPE, Esq.,
seconded the nomination.

The SOLICITOR-GENE ItAL then came forward, and
was received with loml cheers by his party, and in si-
lence by his opponents, who, throughout his very
lengthened address listened to him without the slightest
interruption.

Mr. THESIGER then addressed the meeting. The
instant he attempted to speak the mob commenced
hooting and yelling, which they continued co do with
very little intermission throughout his address, so that
but little of what he said could be heard. During
the whole time Mr. Thessagcr was speaking there
was considerable uproar and interruption. The hired
ragamuffins in the pay of the Blue party, made several
attempts upon the flAgs of the Reds, but were not suc-
cessful in obtaining them.

The Returning Officer having put the show of hands;
which he declared to be in favour of the Solicitor-
General,

Mr. GODFREY demanded a poll on behalf of Mr
Thesiger.
Subjoined is the State of the Poll at the close :
STATE OF THE POLL AT THE CLOSE.

WILDE'S COMMITTEE.
Solicitor-General . ... 536
Th esiger

THESIGER'S COMMITTEE. -
Solicitor-General . 542
Thcsiger .........
---9

EDINBURGH.
Mr. Macaulay returned without opposition.

The Sheriffs have received permission to attend
• Divine Service at St. Margaret's Church, in the custody of
the Officers of the House of Commons.
The General Steam Navigation Company's
Packet, the Ocean, S. Fife, from Rotterdam, arrived off the
Custom House last night.
MANCHESTER— FRIDAY. —'TIE COTTON
TRADE.—The decline in Cotton has accidentally affected both
the demand and pric 's for grey cloth and yarns. On Tuesday
sellers were evidently giving way; that is, that class of them
who make a point of weekly clearing off their productions, and
the number is not small. The decline in power loom cloth for
Printers must be noted at lid per piece, which is about equal
to the decline in Cotton since this day se'nnight. In Yarns
there is not much doing, but we have not heard of any fur-
ther decline since Tuesday, So soon, however, as Cotton is
believed to have attained its lowest mark, a fair trade, if not a
good one, may with confidence be anticipated, for Stocks are
by no means heavy.
The county Meath election is fixed for February
the 4th; there will be no opposition to Mr. Corbally, the Li-
beral candidate.

THE EDINBURGH ANTI-CORN-LAW PETI-
TION. —'lhe petition against the Corn-laws had received last
night between nineteen and twenty thousand signatures. It
was the intention of those having the management of it to
have closed the places of signature yesterday or to-day, but in
justice to many who inu,t have been prevented by the ex-
tremely unpropitious weather from adhibiting their signatures,
a few of the places
.will be kept open for a short time. The
number of signatures received yesterday, upwards of two thou-
sand, proves that the friends of tho cause are as yet by no
means exhausted.— Scotsman of Wednesday.
THE NEWCASTLE CHARTISTS.---A supple-
ment to the Tyne Mercury contains some particulars of the
proceedings at a large meeting of the Chartists held in New-
castle on Monday evening, for the purpose of considering
the measures necessary to save the " Welsh Martyrs." In re-
ferring to the proceedings the Mercury says :—" The mode-
rate speech of Mr. Doubleday, though listened to throughout
with considerable attention, called forth no mark of feeling
from the audience; but when the other speakers commenced
using strong language the cheering was most vehement, and
the greatest excitement prevailed."
THE LIBEL LAW.—The speech of Sir Robert
Peel on Monday night, although—we will respectfully repeat our
opinion—inconclusive as an argument in favour of the claim of
privileges, and, indeed, conclusive against that claim, pre-
sents an admirable argument against the present law of libel.
The press it has been that, by exposing all the real abuses of
the slave-trade and of slavery, and whatever other abuses have
existed, has led to all the reforms of the last fifty years. The
House of Commons ar.d its Committees might have toiled and
grubbed for the whole fifty years, and even sold its awkward
folios to as many as would buy them, but that the public press
gave wings to its discoveries, and to other discoveries which the
House might not have thought it necessary or convenient to
promulgate. Now the press has done all this ; but it has done
it at imminent peril and heavy cost. Many honest and upright
men have been ruined by the discharge of this public service—
a still greater number have been exposed to grievous losses,
while all persons connected with the public journals have been
condemned to a constant state of mortification and alarm little
calculated to aid the faithful discharge of their duty, or to in-
vite men of high accomplishments, and a delicate sense of ho-
nour, into this department of the public service. The argu-
ment that because much has been done, no further relaxation of
difficulties is necessary, though quite valid against the House of
Commons, which has all clung printed with impunity whatever
seemed good to it, and has printed nothing of the least utility
which the public journals have not given to the people, this
argument cannot be applied to the press. The press has done
much, but it has done it to its own loss and danger, and there
is no knowing how much more the press might have done were
it more free, which cannot be said of the House of Commons,
for as far as inquiring and printing has been concerned, we have
all that that House ever clinic to do, and we know that the press
has gone far beyond it. There is another important difference
to be considered, too—the press is always awake, the House of
Commons sleeps half the year ; but it is plain it may be neces-
sary in many cases to make public facts affecting the general
interests, without waiting six months for the meeting of Parlia-
ment, and six months more, perhaps for the publication of evi-
dence. We do not, however, want for the press an equality
with the House of Commons, even in this respect. We shall
be content with far less than the House of Commons thinks too
little for itself. All we ask is that the press shall have that jus-
tice that is scarcely denied to any other class ; that. Jurors and
not Judges (bound by tyrannical precedents) shall decide upon
the facts, in which the motives of the accused must always
hold the first place, in case of writings or publications
prosecuted as libellous. This can be effected with the
utmost ease. Let it be made competent to the defendant
upon a libel prosecution, or in a libel action, to offer
evidence as to his motives generally, such evidence to
be weighed by the jury, of course, as in all other cases,
under the advice of the Court. We do not want that
truth should be admitted as a conclusive defence. A man may
tell the truth unconsciously, though he can scarcely tell an
injurious falsehood without malice—but proof of the truth
of a libel, accompanied by other proofs of the absence
of a malicious motive, may surely make a complete defence--
a defence from which a man prosecuted for libel is
now debarred. Neither would we restrict within very narrow
limits the interpretation of malicious motives. Indiffnence to
the peace, honour, and interests of our fellow-subjects is a crime
less in degree, indeed, but of the same species, as indifference
to their lives, and the law calls this latter indifference malicious.
Standard.
FARM LABOURERS.—A fortnight ago, we
mentioned the case of a labourer, an able-bodied married man,
who being unable to procure higher wages than 63. a week, and
those only on condition that he would bind himself to work at
that rate for an entire year, had applied at the Union House,
either to be relieved temporarily, or to be admitted ; and had
been refused both applications, because an offer of work
had been made him ; no regard being had as to whether at
wages which were a fair and honest remuneration for his ser-
vices, or not. Having made further inquiries into this affair,
we find that on a second application at the House the poor
fellow was told that if he did not go to work on the terms
offered, lie would be sent to prison. The result is, that he is
now working for 6s. a week, the stipulation for the years' ser-
vice at that price having been at last abandoned.— Wiltshire
Independent.
NovEr, MAN TRAP.-..We believe a practice
exists amongst some persons driving carts, of helping their
horses to hay from the ricks of farmers while passing along
the roads in certain districts of this county (Ayrshire.)
These thefts, on a locality on the banks of the River
Ayr, had become common enough to be felt as a
grievance, but the offenders could not be secured, not-
withstanding the greatest vigilence on the part of those
aggrieved. One day, last week, however, a depredator
was taken in a very peculiar manner. He had left his horse
and cart on the road, and was tearing away at the root
of a corn-stack a great deal more industriously than
if at day's wages. The stack, by some chance, stood
off the perpendicular, and the greedy rciver drew out
armful by armful, till he fairly sapped its foundation,
when the stack fell over him and buried him alive under
about one hundred stones of straw ! The object of his cove-
tousness being so plentifully showered upon him, he bellowed
lustily for relief, and the overturn of the stack having been no-
ticed by persons in the vicinity, the culprit was extricated just
in time to save his life. His reputation, however, perished ;
and, after being heartily laughed at, he was allowed to depart.
We should think he will keep his eye aloft, the next time he
tries this trick.—Edinbitryk Observer.

CURIOUS QUARANTINE FOR CONSCIENCE.
SAKE.—The Legislature of Georgia has passed a law, ordain-
ing that all vessels from any port of Maine, arriving at any
port in Georgia, are to be detained in quarantine one hundred
days. This most laughable law has been enacted, because the
Governor aid citizens of Maine have certain conscientious
scruples about slaves and the slave trade. If every State should
past a similar law, quarantining the vessels of other States who
differed from them in matters of conscience, what a curious
state of things would ensue all over the country ! The Phila-
delphians would pass a law quarantining all honest men who
might arrive, lest they might convert their own citizens to the
paths of prompt payment ; the Massachussets Legislaturemight
quarantine all vessels on baard of which any man drank less
fifteen gallons ; the territory of Florida would quarantine all
who objected to hunting down Indians with blood-hounds ; and
so the game would go round the Union. We must mark the
effects of this movement. —Neu, York Paper.
From enquiries which we have made at our Post-
office, we learn that the Lumber of letters passing- through the
office has been rather more than doubled since the
penny
postage system has come into operation. The labour of deli-
very is, we understand, lessened ; as, notwithstanding the in•.
crease in tke number, less time is occupied than before, on ac-
count of the large proportion of pre-paid letters, which is about
one-eighth of the whole. Considerable inconvenience has
arisen, as might have been exrected, from the time consumed
pre-paymEnts, and mor.!. especially is tlis Vie case ;xi wet
when ten or a dozen persons may frevently be Fe c n
ii I
weather,
the
e ey
evening. waiting their turn to hand in their 1,- tters ard
money. The stamps will, of eoursh Cure the evil. —Bright6n
Guardian.

SPIRIT of thc!

;. ~:

JOURNALS

FROM THE DAILY PAPERS OF YESTERDAY. •
(From the Giobr.)
We yesterday prepared our readers for the satislac-
tory result of the Southwark electioa, by publishing the
state of the poll to two o'clock, and in a second edition,
the numbers at the close. Of the success of Mr.
Wood we never entertained a doubt ; but, we arc
free to confess, the triumph achieved exceeds our ex-
pectations. For several months Mr. Walter was in the
field ; and every agency which could be brought into
operation, and every description of influence which
could be brought to bear upon the prejudices of
the working classes, were most unworthily and dis-
honestly exercised. There are circumstances under
which defeat, though it may be attended with disap-
pointment, entails no disgrace. The Tories of South-
' work cannot—as the history of the late contest
abundantly proves—.7olace themselves with the reflec-
tion, " All is lost, save honour !" In spite of
bigotry and blackguardism—the canting of Mr. Wal-
ter, and the bullying of the Times—of " No Popery,"
and " No Poor Laws"—of Mr. Oastler's incentives to
physical force, and the bustling activity in pothouses ofthe
little clique of parochial oligarch whom the new Poor-
law deprived of the authority from which they derived
their only consequence, and whose pride, wounded by
the deprivation, found gratification in maligning the law
which terminated their local importance—in spite of all
these valuable agencies, Mr. Walter—Mr. Walter of
the Times—is the defeated candidate !
(From the Standard.)
The Ministerial writers betray a very painful
anxiety upon the subject of Sir John Yarde Buller's
motion of the 28th inst. These writers no doubt ati-
ticipate, as we do, that Ministers will escape a direct
order of dismissal by some contemptible majority—
such as has often saved them before ; but though
the formal discharge may be postponed by the
nearly balanced state of parties in the House,
and the inexcusable absence upon the Continent
of half-a-dozen Conservative Members without pairs,
still the moral effect of a narrow division upon a
question so direct and so vital as a distinct vote of
want of confidence, cannot be evaded. The vote, it
is true, can, if recorded, assert no more than was
confessed by Lord Melbourne last spring ; but
there is a wide difference between the solemn de-
claration of a majority, or even of a considerable nil
nority, of Members of the House, arid the pettish,
complaint of a' person no more renowned for veracity
than Lord Melbourne ; besides, the fraudulent issue of
the mock resignation of last spring taints all the preli-
minaries and accompaniments ; and though the fact of
Lord Melbourne having lost the confidence of Parlia-
ment is undoubtedly true, it seems the less true because
he has asserted it.

(From the Courier.)
The Ministry sneaked out of the " privilege" ques-
tion for one day by not making a House last evening.
Postpone it as they may, the evil day of account must
come at last ; and blustef as they do about baring yin.
dicated the honour and dignity of the Commons, they
must come to humble-pie at last, and either erase
the records of the case altogether from their pages,
or leave the Journals of the House to tell the
talc of the high and mighty aspirations of their
despotism, of their big words and puny deeds, and finally
of their ignominious defeat in the contest with the Su-
preme Courts of Justice, deeply seated in the vene-
ration and affections of the people. The Lord
Chief Justice of all England is not yet com-
mitted for contempt, although, if swelling speeches
and resolves were aught but word; " full of sound
and fury signifying nothing," he should rather be
found in the dungeons of the Parliament Hour! than
firm and fearless as he is, proudly presiding over the
Queen's Court at Westminster, or loftily bearding and
reproaching the pusillanimity of the Government by
his presence in the Lords' House.