The Sun.
London, England, 1860-11-20 00:00:00

SOUTHWARK.

The state of affairs in this borough has become
more complicated through the retirement of Mr.
Apsley Pellatt, who, after an active canvass during
the last ten days, has decided not to press his claims
in opposition to Mr. Scovell. Although this resolu
tion was not unexpected, yet its consummation has
caused increased excitement among various parties
in the borough. Mr. Pellatt's chance was from the ,
first deemed by those who ore best acquainted with
local circumstances to be much inferior to those of
Mr.Scovell, who in the districts bordering upon the
river possesses undisputed influence, and is exceed-
ingly popular with a large portion of the consti-
tuency. In his notice
of retirement Mr. Pellatt
and
speaks of that act as the fulfilment of a promise,
" cheerfully withdraws from
opposing a local gentleman whose political sentiments harmonise
with his own and with those of the majority of the
constituency of Southwark." The committee who
were engaged in conducting Mr. Pellatt's elec-
tion, however, appear to take a somewhat cliff&
rent view of his withdrawal, as Mr. Newman, the

chairman, in a public notice, declares that neither
he nor the committee knew anything of Mr. Pel-
latt's determination to retire until after the letter
of resignation had been sent to The Times. It must
be mentioned, however, that Mr. Newman's name
has been several t;mes used in publishing
the intention of Mr. Pellatt to withdraw should
Mr. Scovell come forward as a candidate; and at a
meeting of Mr. Fawcett's friends on Friday night
it was publicly stated that Mr. Newman had de-
clared that Mr. Pellatt would give a final answer
as to his intention upon the following (Saturday)
morning. In the meantime this retirement of one
who was certainly a formidable antagonist to any
" stranger" has produced a revival among the
numerous class of aspirants for Parliamentary dis-
tinction, and several fresh candidates have been
spoken of. An attempt was made at first to induce
the electors to believe that Mr. Pellatt had retired
in favour of Mr. Layard ; but, as that gentle-
man's name had previously been mentioned
only in connexion with the fact that he had de-
clined to divide the Liberal interest, that expla-
nation did not receive much credit, and Mr. Pel-
latt's own announcement of his motives
has determined the point. Mr. Layard, however,
possesses many friends in the borough, who are un-
derstood to be actively engaged in preparing such
a requisition as they think will not fail to induce
that gentleman to offer himself as a candidate to
I succeed Sir C. Napier. Another name that was yes-
terday put forth more prominently was that of Sir
Anthony Sterling, who describes himself as the
tried friend and colleague of Sir Colin Campbell in
the Crimean and Indian campaigns. Whether this
gentleman intends seriously to enter upon the con-
test, or whether he is only an addition to the host
of paper candidates who have already appeared, it
is impossible at present to ascertain. Mr. Scovell
held his first public meeting last night at the Lea-
ther-market, Weston-street, Bermondsey, which
was attended by upwards of 2,000 persons, and
being a torchlight meeting, presented a somewhat
striking scene. Mr. J. Harris presided, and intro-
duced N&r. Scovell, who explained in detail his poli-
tical views, which are already known by his pub-
lished address.

nu SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 20, 1860

sidered mode of proceeding, and the experiment is'
comparatively useless. It will be remembered also
that in the firing at Eastbourne several shells burst
almost as they left the muzzle of the gun, as it for-
tunately happened, without any injury to the by-
standers; had it been otherwise, the excuse that
the charge was too strong for the shells would have
been a very lame one, especially as appertaining to
a set of experiments supposed to be conducted with
something like scientific accuracy. It is satisfactory
to know, however, that the real serviee experiment
in China was entirely free from any of the minor
difficulties in working which were noticed at East-
bourne; indeed, the success of the Armstrong was
so remarkable, that out of polite consideration for
the canons rayes of our allies, the subject was not
to be mentioned in the official despatch.
But though we may be disposed to carp at the
experimenters, we have nothing but praise to be-
stow upon the gunners. On both occasions in these
trials their skill was remarkable, the Armstrongs
throwing shot shell into a space of 15 feet by 12,
with very few mis-shots, and the smooth bores
making almost equally good practice. It was most
interesting to observe, also, that at Bexhill this
remarkable efficiency was shared by the Volunteer
Artillery, who proved themselves quite up to the
mark with the regulars.—Daily News.