The Sun.
London, England, 1870-05-27 00:00:00

THE BALLOT IN ENGLAND.

At last a system of secret voting has been sanctioned
by the British Government, and introduced into the
House of Commons by the Marquis of Hartington. It is
not called the " ballot " in order that ConservatiVe
instincts may sustain as little offence as possible. But all
the same, it amounts to an abandonment of that system
of open voting at the polls which has led to so much inti-
midation in past times. • The voter will, if the new bill be
passed, deposit a voting ticket in the box, and be spared
the inconvenience of declaring in the presence of a large
crowd whose side he has taken up. It is virtually the
ballot, and as Mr. Gladstone pledged himself to bring in
some measure of the kind in the course of the session, we
may presume that he is determined to push it through.
But he seems to be more successful in introducing bills
this year than in carrying them.—lVew York Times.

SENATOR REVELS ON " THE TENDENCIES
OF THE AGE. •

The large hall of the Cooper Institute was partially
filled on the 11th of May, the occasion being a lecture by
Senator Revels, of Mississippi, on " The Tendencies of
the Age." The speaker was introduced by Mr. D. R.
Locke, of Toledo, and commenced by saying that the
two great elements of modern civilisation were Aristo-
cracy and Democracy, the one clinging to the mediaeval
past, and the other leading to the grandeur of the future.
A nation mirrored itself in its literature as an author
mirrors himself in his own works. What forrc ed the man
formed the multitude. He held that this country was to
be the theatre of the final and complete disenthralment of
the human mind. Everything in our country, in our in-
stitutions, in our moral training, and in our circumstances
pointed in that direction. He said that the wrongs of the
Indian and of the negro would demand the future atten-
tion of this country. Popular self-government is the
true history of democracy. Long before Sumter
was fired upon this people was passing a fiery ordeal. The
enslavement of the negro was the culmination of the
mediaeval darkness. The aristocratic element was essen-
tially the caste principle that the few should govern the
ignoble many. Gentle blood, hereditary rank, colonr of
skin, have a large place in its court and in its vocabulary.
It stooped to sounds of praise and loyalty. The demo-
cratic element is born of the people, and is possessed of no
class, no colour of skin, and no blood. Its tendency goes
to secure liberty of conscience and liberty of thought.
The Governments of the Old World were compelled to
recognise in the New the giant of the age, merely on
account of its democratic doctrines and institutions. He
referred to the liberalistic tendencies of England by stat-
ing that a Lord Chancellor of England at the present
time was a Roman Catholic. Liberalism was the tune
to which the Old World countries were beginning to
march. He hoped that. God would haste the day when
the downtrodden should enjoy the same available privi-
leges claimed by the aristocracy, and that the time would
come when there would be a common brotherhood. He
said that education was the great lever which was to ele-
vate and ennoble the African race. In conclusion, he
mentioned the feelings of gratitude which his race would
forever cherish towards the Republican party.