The Sun.
London, England, 1870-05-23 00:00:00

Voters in Scotland.

As might have been expected, Lanark and Aber-
deen bear the palm amongst the Scotch counties in
regard to the number of voters on the register; the
former has 4,390 electors for the county in respect
of property, and 4,054 in respect of occupancy ; the
latter has 1,813 in respect of property, and 6,674
in respect of occupation. Ayrshire has a total of
6,09 voters; Perthshire, 5,327; Renfrewshire,
5,687. Cromarty, the county which is made up of
some thirty pieces, musters only 13 property and 67
occupation voters. This is the smallest number in
the list. It is remarkable how the two classes fluc-
tuate in different parts of the country. Clackman-
nan, for instance, has 826 property and 327 occupa-
tion voters.

The Abyssinian and New Zealand Medals.
The delay in issuing the Abyssinian and New
Zealand medals, as well as the doubt which exists as
to the limitation of the distribution of the latter, is
calling forth much complaint in the services.
If, moreover, the statement is true, that the New
Zealand award is only to be given, as far as the navy
is concerned, to such officers and. men as have
actually been under the enemy's fire,. much
more serious indignation will assuredly follow
the scheme. It would be unjust in the
highest degree to take this course, while, on
the other hand, all ships' companies who were in
any way connected with the Abyssinian expedition
are to be honoured with that appanage. The case
becomes extremely severe when different expeditions
are dealt with on widely different principles. There
is a rumour that every soldier of the Line who
was in New Zealand is to obtain that medal,
whether he has been before the enemy
or not. Why, then, are the sailors to be
differently treated ? The comparative amount of
danger attached to each arm of the service
was alike, and when one draws distinc-
tions between the perils at Magdala, where
not a single man was killed, and those in the
Maori conflicts, the balance, it will be seen, decidedly
fell to the share of the soldiers and sailors in New
Zealand. It is to be hoped that inconsistency and
partiality in the question will without further contro-
versy be abandoned, and that the distinctions in both
cases will be promptly, fairly, and extensively given
to their rightful claimants.
The Independence of English Judges.
If there is one part of the English constitution
more than another which meets with universal admi-
ration, it is that which may be termed its judicial
system. The perfect working of that system
has been mainly due to the independence
of its judges. Certain inhabitants of the
Straits Settlements who conceived they saw in
the language used by Governor Ord, in a despatch
to Earl Granville an invasion of the principles of
English law in this respect, have presented a
petition to the House of Commons. The
language taken exception to was that the judges
are placed under the control of the executive
in the same manner as other public officers.
The Supreme Court of the Settlements was from its
first institution in 1807 until 1867 entirely inde-
pendent of the local executive, but on the transfer
of these settlements to the Colonial Office the
judges became liable to suspension by the
governor, and dismissal by the governor and
the executive council. Earl Granville in reply
to the petitioners stated that, the complaints had been
laid before the judicial members of the,
Privy Council, who had framed a memo-
morandum on the subject which would, he hoped,
be sufficient to ensure the independence of the

judges. The precise terms of that memorandum did
not appear, but doubtless it has been drawn up with
a view of ensuring the dignity of the judicial office,
and at the same time of dispelling the fears of the
petitioners.