The Sun.
London, England, 1869-01-06 00:00:00

THE IRISH ELECTION PETITIONS.

In the case of the Wexford petition an order has been
made on an application to Mr. Justice Keogh, allowing a
special case to be laid before the court, the parties on both
sides admitting the facts, and the only question in dispute
being whether the election was void, and if so, whether
Mr. Matte, the petitioner, was entitled to the seat.
It will be remembered that the alleged infor-
mality arose in consequence of the withdrawal
of the petitioner from the contest after being
declared duly elected by a show of hands, and
the demand and appointment of a poll. In the London-
derry case his lordship has made an order directing that
three days before the hearing particulars of the alleged
bribery and corruption should be furnished by the
petitioner. In the Galway case an application was made
on the part of Sir R. Blennerhassett to take the petition
off the file on the ground that it had not been pre-
sented in time. Ile contended that the " return "
was made when the writ was sealed in open court by
the sheriff, and that the twenty-one days should run
from that time. His lordship ruled against this view.
The application was then pressed on another ground
—that the recognizance had not been stamped. Judge
Keogh decided that that was a l o:nt to be settled before
the Master, and refused the motion with costs, In the
Limerick case Mr. Macdonogh, Q.C., applied on the part
of Mr. F. W. Russell for an attachment against
four persons for contempt of court. The hearing
of the motion was adjourned tntil Monday next,
in order to afford time to the persons ac-
cused to file affidavits. An application was made
to take the petition off the file on the ground of
Insufficiency of the recognizances, which were joint,
instead of separate. There were two members petitioned
against. Justice Keogh ruled that the objection, though
a fatal one, ought to have been made before the Master,
and refused the motion, with costs. In the Athlone case,
counsel on behalf of the sitting member appealed against
an order of the Master permitting the petitioner to remove
objections to his recognizance by lodging 21,000. The
court refused the motion with costs.

The Magyar .29ag of Pesth publishes a letter
from Kossuth, in which the ex-Dictator attacks the
Government on the subject of the arrangement lately

entered into between Austria and Hungary. The writer
declares that he will not return to his native country until
the monarch shall have restored to Hungary its political
autonomy. He expresses the hope that circumstances will
arise to lead to that result.

THE LICENSING LAW.—A committee of the
West Riding magistrates have drawn up a report in
favour of an amendment of the law of licensing, which is
to be submitted to their brother magistrates at Sheffield
on Friday. They would have the hours of closing and the
management of licensed houses placed more directly than
at present under the same authority. The question has
also been discussed at the Lancaster Sessions, the chair-
man, Ur. Cross, M.P., stating that the question for deci-
sion now was whether the present jurisdiction of the
magistrates was to be diminished or increased.

Complaints having in several instances been
made that largo expenses on account of postage and
stationery are entailed on Volunteer corps, whilst al-
lowances granted to the adjutants of such corps for

the special purpose of meeting these expenses remain
to a very great extent unexpended, Mr. Secretary
Cardwell has this morning issued a circular to commanding
officers, directing that the allowance of £4 per company per
annum shall be expended under the orders of commanding
officers, and that adjutants are to tender an annual account
of how the money has been expended.

The corporation of York have passed a resolution

nstructing the town clerk to proceed against ono of their

fellow citizens for the recovery of the fine of .£5O for non-
acceptance of the office of alderman, to which he bad been
elected. The majority of the members of the corporation
of the city are Liberals, but they have on one or two occa-
sions selected members of the Conservative party as alder-
men, expecting that a gentleman es chosen would, when his
turn arrived, accept the office of chief magistrate. Mr. J.
F. Taylor, who is a Conservative, has been chosen an
alderman, but declines to qualify on the ground, it is under-
stood, of his wish not to be elevated to the dignity of Lcrd
Mayor.

A strike amongst the operative tobacconists has
takenplace at Chesterfield. A short time since Mr. Mason, one
of the largest manufacturers, introduced into his establish-
ment a machine to spin Irish roll tobacco, and intimated to
those in his employ that he should reduce the pay for
making this article at the rate of id. per pound. A meet-
ing of the Operative Tobacconists' Society was held, and the
men were agreeable to take asmall reduction, but not to the
extent required by Mr. Mason. lie refused, however, to alter
his decision, and the men have now turned out, and circulars
have been sent throughout the country warning the opera-
tive tobacconists of the state of affairs at Chesterfield, and
some fresh men who have been engaged have none back to
the place from whence they started.

The Constitutionnel says that a distinguished
foreign diplomatist recently asked the Emperor whether ho
was in favour of the candidature of the Prince Carignan
for the throne of Spain, and that his Imperial Majesty
replied in the following words :—" I know the Spanish
character too well to ever commit the fault of recom-
mending one candidate more than another. Whatever
chances of success he might have it would be sufficient that
he was supported by Franco for Spain to reject him. For
these reasons I have directed that positive orders should
be given to my representative at Madrid, to abstain
from all advice, and even from all insinuation of a nature to
engage in any way whatever the responsibility of France,
and f 9 merely confine himself to the assurance that no one
wishes mode sincerely than I do that Spain may pass 09.
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