The Sun.
London, England, 1840-08-13 00:00:00

POLL FOR. cHURCII-RATE AT

ROCHDALE.

We beg to direct the attention ot otir readers to the de-
tails, even in another column, of the extraoril;:i:::.y pro.:
ceedings at Rochdale, during the poll for a Clitirch rate,
which terminated on Saturday last. It will be seen, that
the rate has been apparently carried, partly by the most
barefaced bribery and fraud, and pertly by a manceavre on
the part • bf the Reterend Chairman, which we shall not
trust ourseltes to characterise by the terms which alone
seem apPlibahle to it. Our readers *ill see, that, at five
o'clock on Saturday, being the time previously flied for '
concluding the poll, the Vicar, probably finding that there
was then a majority against the rate, suddenly announced
that he should prolong the poll for another hour, just as he
did on the previous. Wednesday evening, when he found
that a large majority of the voters present were in favour of
the rate. The following is the report alluded to :
Saturday was the last day of the poll ; and the interest
and excitement surpassed anything that ever took place
at either a borough or a county election. Both parties
began to bring up their voters in cars, gigs, chaise',
coaches, omnibuses, waggons, and carts. The Tories had
their open houses, as at a borough election, and votes were
on sale to the highest bidder. Bargains were regularly
going on, both in the street and the National School,
without the least attempt at concealment ; and many who
bad bad their rates paid by the Tories, amounting to 20s.
or 305., voted for the anti-rate party for the trifling sum
of 2s. or 3s. It is a fact that many, by asking too much
for a vote, lost the opportunity of realis.ing anything for it.
By three or four o'clock in the afternoon the numbers as-
sembled in front of the National School were immense,
and continued to increase till the close of the poll. What
gave the greatest irritation to the crowd was the par-
tiality shown in admitting voters and other persons into
the National School by a door at the end of the building.
According to an arrangement come to by the Vicar,
none were to go in 'at this entrance but females, old in•
firm men, and those who had a ticket signed by the Vicar.
Each party were to have had 20 of these privileged
tickets. And the chief of the rows, during the afternoon,
arose from the Tory party being admitted without ticket,
while the anti-rate men were debarred from that privilege.
This entrance was guarded by about a dozen of the county
constabulary and two of the town beadles. Whenever a
person was attempting to go in without this ticket, be was
seized by the crowd on one side and the police on the other;
sometimes both contending parties were pushed by the
surrounding mass of living beings to the distance of thirty
or forty yards from the door; at other times the man was
dragged into the door, while the tails of his coat remained
behind in the hands of the people. Mr. Woods (clerk to
Mr. Clement Royds) had his coat torn up to the collar by
a struggle of this kind. One carriage bringing some
" blues" to poll at this door was seized by the crowd, who
took hold of the wheels and carried it away with the voters
it contained. Upon one or two occasions several heavy
blows passed between the police and the people. This
was occasioned by two or three of the former losing their
temper, and striking with their fists, or seizing their assail-
ants by the throat. But the people were in g-.od humour,
and no other injury was received or given than a few
broken heads.
At the close of the poll, at five o'clock, according to
the statement of the anti-rate persons, the numbers were
—for the rate, 6,457; against it, 6,464; making a majority
against the rate of seven.
At five o'clock Mr. Clement Royds brought all the
soldiers in the barracks, with bayonets fixed, into the midst
of the crowd before the National School. They had or-
ders to charge their muskets ; and, it is said, the Riot
Act was read by this gentleman. However, the military
did not stop long. Mr. Chadwick, the Magistrate, was
speedily sent for ; and, the moment he came, he ordered
the military off the ground, amidst the cheers of the mul-
titude. It is said some sharp words passed between Mr.
Royds and Mr. Chadwick ; and the latter gentleman said
he could preserve the peace of the town without the
tary. The soldiers had been under arms all the week ; but
they had not received any instructions from the liberal
Magistrates, neither were the county constabulary brought
by their order.
All was peaceable during the evening, and the crowd
left the National School at nearly eight o'clock. Mr.
Royds and the police conducted the Vicar through the
streets home; and they were repeatedly hissed and hooted
at by the crowd as they went along.
The Anti-Church-rate party have, since the close of the
poll, made a cat eful examination of the books; from which
they find, that the actual majority against the rate, at the
legal close of the poll, at five o'clock on Saturday after-
noon, was not 7 but 15. The numbers as so ascertained,
and which there is every reason to believe will prove cor-
rect, are--
Against the rate
For the rate 6,436
Majority against the rate l5
The numbers polled after five o'chick are clearly illegal,
and we may state that the numkers polled from five to six
o'clock were—For the rate, 126; Against it, 68; being a
majority of 58 for the rate in that hour—a circumstance
which seems to indicate that some parties were previously
aware of the Vicar's intention to keep the poll open for that
hour extra. The numbers thus gained would make an
apparent majority in favour of the rate—but of course a
fictitious one—of 43 votes. . _

Thus has ended, for the present, one of the most extra-
ordinary contests for Church rate probably ever heard of.
The second, within a few weeks, in the same parish, the
former attempt having been signally defeated—it has far
transcended the former struggle in the reckless efforts and
unprincipled means resorted to by the Tories to
gain a victory (if it really be one), it is
supposed, must have • cost them several thousand
pounds. As it is, they will have pa d very large
amounts in rates, for those who were willing to vote
for them on such terms, without deriving' any advantage,
not even the paltry satisfaction of gaining a party triumph,
at the cost of so much money, the sacrifice of so much
time, and the engendering of so much party feeling
' throughout all the townships in the parish. Treating,
briberj, intimidation, manufacturing of votes, and drun-
kenness, were the great and very tit agents employed by
the party who clAinn for themselves the exclusive regard for
the welfare of the Church Establ•shment. We lit ed not ad-
duce any facts to prove what is so notorious throughout the
parish of Rochdale; but one or two circumstances may be
mentioned in corroboration of the general practice. As to
the manufacture of votes, we have been assured that,

for one hovel of sods, in which wheelbarrows arc kept
on the line of the Manchester and Leeds Railway, I
twenty-two labourers were constituted rate-payers, and
placed on the books ; and all of these men, it is need-
less to add, voted for the rate. It, is stated that up-
wards of a hundred such votes were created for sod-
huts, &c., for the benefit of the Church-rate party.
Another circurnslance worthy of observation is, that the
Vicar—who, as chairman, was of course appealed to, in any
disputed matter—rarely decided any such question, till he
had ascertained which way the party tendering his vote
was desirous to vote. We may be excused for remind-
ing our readers, that the poll was illegally prolonged on
Wednesday evening, as well as on Saturday evening,
from five to six o'clock ; and, though it cannot be precisely
ascertained, there is strong reason to believe that, by this
stolen march of one hour, the Church-rate party gained
about 150 votes—the opponents of the rate not coming up
after five o'clock, as they supposed that the poll had closed
for the day at that hour.
The feeling in seine of the townships was almost entirely
against the rate. In Todmorden 1,340 voted against it,
and only 144 for the rate ; and this small number includes
some of the railway labourers, already noticed. Of those
opposed to the rate, 720 came ten miles in carts and wag-
gons, during the first day, to give their votes against it.

MELANCHOLY AND FATAL
ACCIDENT NEAR BOLTON.

On Sunday morning last, about nine o'clock, an acci-
dent of a most melancholy nature occurred at Darcey
Lever, near Bolton; by which two women lost their lives,
and three others, together with two children, were very
seriously injured. It appears that a party of six females,
three young men, and three children, arrived at the Farm-
ers' Arms, in Darcey Lever, about nine o'clock in the
morning, from Horwich, on their way to Lever Banks, in
Little Lever. They were in a one-horse common cart,
and were intending to go to see some relations and friends.
They got out of the cart whilst the horse kad some meal
and water and hay given to it ; and in the course of a few
minutes five out of the six women had got into the
cart again, and the sixth was on the chair, ready
to get in when the, accident occurred. The young
man that was feeding the horse bad, foolishly enough,
taken off the horse's bridle, in order that the animal
might get its head into the can to drink ; and as the re-
maining woman was attempting to step into the cart, she
made two or three failures, and this caused the other
women to laugh. The noise attracted the attention of the
horse, who lifted his head from the can, and, in conse-
quence of being without bridle, was able to distinguish
the parties in the cart. As might naturally be expected,
he became alarmed, and bolted off at full gallop across the
road ; but, on arriving at the point of the brow, the animal
discovered there was no road, and therefore turned quickly
round to gallop towards Bolton ; bin, the inclination of the
road, and the speedy turn of the horse, upset the cart, and
all were thrown over. Two persons were found under
the cart, and two or three had been thrown over
some flags into a cellar area. One poor woman, Jane
Makinsoo, aged thirty-four years, was thrown against the
flags with great violence, and her skull was so frac-
tured, that when picked up she was dead ; she was Lot
even observed to breathe. She was the wife of Noah Ma
kinson, of Horwich, an engine tenter, and organist at Hor-
wich Church. She has left six children to regret her loss.
She bad an infant child of eight months old in her arms
when the horse started off; and, perceiving danger, she
threw the child from the cart, and it was caught by a woman
who stood near, and escaped without injury. Mary Ann
Sharples, aged 33, the wife of John Sharpies, a crofter at
Horwich, was taken up in a dreadful state, and conveyed
to a neighbouring house. Mr. Hampson, surgeon, of Bol-
ton, was immediately on the spot, end rendered every
possible assistance ; but she died on Monday morning
about two o'clock, having breathed with great diffi-
culty from the time of the accident, and bad never
spoken. She has left three children, one of whom, an
infant of eight months old that she had in her arms,
was thrown with her to the ground. One of its eyes was
knocked in, and its skull injured ; but it is probable that
it may recover, although lying in a dangerous state. The
other persons injured were Mrs. Terrier, a widow with a
large family; one of whose shoulders was dislocated, and
she was otherwise injured. The other persons were Ellen
Roper, a single woman, and Mrs. Caldwell.b The
dtwon-
latter were injured about the head and body, et notinuac_
gerously so. The other, a little gill, was not so
h
hurt as the rest. The circumstance created the greatest
consternation in the neighbourhood, as it is the. second\ac-
cident of the sort that has happened there of
of such enorr.
Hulme, the publican, of Radcliffe, who was -
mous weight, having been killed at the bottom of the bill.
—Manchester Guardian.

A fleet of Dutch men-of-war, consisting of two
frigates, two brigs, and a corvott.e, passed d-own the
channel on Wednesday week. One of the frigates had art
Admiral's fig ;,t her mizen.head. Desttuation uuknow
o—Dover Chronicle.