The Sun.
London, England, 1869-01-26 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, '1 UESDAY EVENING, JANUARY 26, 169.

urged, and very likely will be by the opponents of
the measure, that thiS was not a regular affair, and
that we cannot judge from this fancy undertaking,
but the principle is the same, and the experience of
Friday and Saturday can be cited as an illustration of
the expediency of the matter. When we find that
more than eleven thousand persons took an active
part in the affair, and that so great an undertaking
was accomplished with no noise, disturbance or ob-
struction, surely we have a lesson before us that he
who runs may read. Those who have no faith in the
lower orders, and those who look upon the arena
of political strife with a cynical air, or a scornful in-
terpretation, may understand that it is not the
fault of the voters themselves, if elements of dis-
order are rife during the election contests ; but
of those who interfere with them for their own
purpose, and draw into the struggle the unruly
spirits who have really no call to mix in the affairs
at all. These disturbing elements were not visible
at Manchester, nor need their sinister influences pre-
vail in any election where the ballot is tried. Men
will then find their attention directed to the real
object before them, and instead of wondering which
side will come down most handsomely, or worrying
over the probable cost of an independent vote, will
only have to dwell upon the merits of the rival can-
didates, and thus think of the substance instead of
the shadow. It has been the last argument
that the opponents of the Ballot could
find to employ against it that it was un-English ;
but really if it were an importation from another land
that should be no reason against employing it if it
answered our purpose and served to rectify our
errors. Are we, then, to conclude that rioting,
bribery, and false-swearing are particularly our pos-
sessions ? Are they indigenous to our soil, because if
so our political harvest is not likely to be a pleasant
or a profitable one. At any rate, it is a satisfaction
to know that the Ballot has been tried to a certain
extent, and that it has not been found wanting. Man-
chester may lay claim to the merit of appreciating its
advantages and of having inaugurated its career. The
working of the new Bribery Act has already gone
far to disenchant many votaries of the old system, and
when a Conservative Government has introduced so
sweeping a measure of reform to remedy old abuses,
the least that the Liberal majority can do on their
part is to complete the work by giving the electors
the Ballot. If they hesitate much longer they will
find that they have lost the chance of being famous,
and that the country will owe this great electoral
change like the repeal of the Corn Laws and the Re-
form Bill itself to the foresight and determination of
their opponents. Meanwhile both sides may learn a
lesson from Manchester, where the Ballot has come
safely through the ordeal that was prepared for it.

Fon some time past the managers of election mat-
ters at the Reform Club have been casting about for
a seat in which to place the new Postmaster-General,
the Marquis of HARTINGTON, who was defeated in
North Lancashire at the general election. At last
Mr. RICHARD GREEN PRICE, the unknown successor
of a very distinguished man, has been induced to re-
sign his seat for Radnor boroughs. Mr. PRICE was
first elected in April 1803, on the death of Sir G. C.
LEWIS, but has not, we believe, ever opened his
mouth in Parliament. Resignation can scarcely,
therefore, be a very serious sacrifice to him, and
though he may miss the " Rich Men's Club,"
he will no doubt get the usual reward for
his self-abnegation, the reward which was given
to Mr. RICH when he left Richmond in order to make
room for Sir ROUNDELL PALMER, and which was
given to Mr. HUMPHREY when he left Andover to
make room for Sir JOHN KARSLAXE—a baronetcy,
to wit. Radnor district has before now been an
asylum for a rejected statesman, for when Sir
GEORGE LEWIS was defeated in Herefordshire, he
crossed the border and got returned for the
Welsh constituency. Lord HARTINGTON will
be the first Postmaster - General who has
sat in the House of Commons. He is enabled to do
this by reason of Mr. DARBY GRIFFITH'S Act.
Lamentable to relate, that hon. gentleman will not
be present to witness the practical results of this his
sole achievement in legislation. We ought to add
that Lord HARTINGTON is threatened with oppo-
sition. Mr. G. PHILLIPS, a Conservative, is announced
as a candidate. We imagine that the opposition is
scarcely more serious than that which was offered to
Mr. PRICE in November by Mr. Ham, who did not
go to the poll.

THE sovereigns of Europe would do the British
nation a real kindness if they were to seize every
English paper published yesterday. Our reputation
as a commercial people had already fallen low
enough, but the proceedings before the LORD MAYOR
on Saturday, in the case of OVEREND, GURNEY, and
Co., shew that there is a lower depth of disgrace,
and that this depth has been sounded. Concerning the
defendants in this case we have nothing to say to-day.
Their conduct is still sub judwe. A few hours will
reveal if the chief magistrate of the City takes the •
same view of the proceedings which have been
revealed to him that is taken by the world generally.
There is no need to withhold our comments upon the
conduct of another actor in this miserable drama.
He is not under prosecution. His transactions are
recorded by himself. They are some of the most
extraordinary ever revealed in a court of justice.
Mr. EDWARD WATKIN EDWARDS is an official
assignee in the Court of Bankruptcy, and has held
that post for many years. While holding it (in
November 1862) he entered into an agreement with
Messrs. OVEREND, GURNEY, and Co., by which he
was to give them advice and assistance for five years,
at a salary of £5,000 a year. In other words, Mr.
EDWARDS, being a public officer, paid for looking
after the public interests, engaged himself as confi-
dential adviser to a commercial firm at a very large
salary. It is obvious that Mr. EDWARDS, being paid
by the public for his services, had no right to offer
them to any private persons. It is also obvious that
a man holding such a position as that of official
assignee would acquire an amount and a kind of infor-
mation very valuable to a house like OVEREND and
GURNEY's. It is equally obvious that to impart such
information would be a gross breach of confidence.
It does not appear if this information
was given. Whether it was given or not,
Mr. EDWARDS is not the less open to the
severest censure for having placed himself in a posi-
tion so compromising and so suspicious. At the
time that he made the arrangements with OVEREND
and GURNEY he was secretly advancing money to one
of the partners, Mr. CHAPMAN, in whose hand-
writing, by the way, the agreement was drawn up.
That is to say, this official assignee was lending money
privatelyto a member of the firm to whom he had. hired
himself, the amount of the loan, significantly enough,
being one year's salary. What Mr. CHAPMAN'S
partners would have said to this arrangement if they
had known it we will not undertake to say. We
scarcely think that they would have been content to
give Mr. EDWARDS £5,000 a year on the tacit under-
standing that one year's salary should be " advanced"
to one of the firm. At present the transaction
looks as though this were the commission paid to
Mr. CHAPMAN by Mr. EDWARDS for getting him the
post of confidential adviser. If we misinter-
pret the arrangement the fault is not ours,
but theirs who placed themselves in a posi-
tion so equivocal. The matter becomes worse when
we examine into the amount actually paid. The
agreement was to commence on January 1863; at
the end of 1864 Mr. EDWARDS received his eonge.
having been already paid for the first year. Never-
theless, f.:20,000 was placed to his credit in the books
of the firm, and this amount was transferred to the
unfortunate limited liability company, and was paid
by them. It must be admitted that Mr. EDWARDS
was amply requited for his generosity in " lending "

£5,000 to his "very intimate " friend of ten years
standing.
It is interesting co examine the services rendered
by Mr. EDWARDS for this handsome salary. He
" advised " them vith regard to the Milwall Iron
Works, and that company ran into debt to the
amount of £570.000, whereof nothing has been
recovered. He " idvised " them with regard to the
Atlantic Mail Company. He was well qualified to give
advice—in the interests of the Company—for he was
a director, and bang, of course, unable to serve
two masters, made his choice, the result of
which was that tie Atlantic Company became
indebted to OVEREND and GURNEY to the modest
sum of £839,000, of which the liquidators have some
hope of recovering £B,OOO. It is not astonishing
that Mr. BIRKBECK, finding the retainer of £5,000
a year had led to this unprofitable transaction,
scolded Mr. EDWARDS in " rather coarse" terms. Mr.
EDWARDS further " advised" his employers with
respect to STEPHANOS XENOS and the Greek and
Oriental Steam Shipping Company, with a resulting
loss of £144,000, after crediting Mr. XENOS with the
"nominal" value of his ships. Mr. EDWARDS also "ad-
vised" OVEREND and GURNEY respecting the follow-
ing very hopeful firns :—ZACHARY PEARSON, of Hull,
whose bankruptcy was at the time one of the events
of the day—it would be thought a small matter in
these more rapid times ; the Austrian Bank, in which
Mr. ROEBUCK burnt his fingers; Mr. JOHN SCOTT
RUSSELL, the shipbuilder, concerning whom his
brother engineers have expressed an opinion not
altogether favourable ; Mr. C. J. MARE, the bank-
rupt shipbuilder and unseated member for Ply-
mouth ; Mr. HOWARD, who had to be " discharged"
from his debt of £321,000 ; the East India and
London Shipping Company, whose debt, only a
bagatelle of £27,000, had to be "written off."
Finally, there were all those concerns in which Mr.
JouN °EMELT.. LEVER, once M.P., lately bankrupt,
was concerned, and of which it is sufficient to say
that he /vas concerned in them. In these
last matters Mr. EDWARDS shewed himself
a man of many parts. He was acting, as we have
seen, for OVEREND and GURNEY; he was also a
partner in the firm of accountants which inspected
Mr. LEVER'S accounts; he was also umpire in an arbi-
tration arising out of those accounts. But the
crowning feat of all was that Mr.. EnwAnns, while
receiving £5,000 a year to " advise " and act in
the interests of OVEREND, GURNEY, and Co., received
£2,000 from Mr. ZACHARY PEARSON for selling his
ships to that firm ; and there is reason to believe—
at least Mr. EDWARDS will not deny it—that he
received £5,000 from the Milwall Iron Works for
inducing his employers to advance £510,000,
which they were never to get back. Comment
upon such a case as this is needless.
We can only condole with the defend-
ants, in that having made an agreement with
a public official of a very questionable kind, it should
have turned out so disastrous to them. As for Mr.
EDWARDS, we presume that his achievements will
shortly receive the attention of the LORD CHAN-
CELLOR.

LATEST INTELL MENU.

(REUTEP.'S TELEGRAMS.)