The Sun.
London, England, 1869-03-05 00:00:00

TWO BILLS.

fi'wo bills issued yesterday are of importance, the
one having for its object the repeal of religious tests
in the universities, the other further regulating the
Sunday liquor traffic in Ireland—the one removing
obstacles in the way of the pursuit of knowledge, the
other attempting to make the road of vice more
difficult to tread. Sir J. Coleridge's name still backs
the Abolition of Tests Bill, and though it is given
out that his name is there in his private capacity, it
is understood that the Cabinet as a body intends to
support the measure. It contains only seven clauses,
the effect of which may be very shortly stated.
Persons taking lay academical degrees and
candidates for professorships are not to be
required to subscribe to any formulary of faith or to
make declarations concerning their religious belief.
This provision does not apply to to collegiate offices ;
but with regard to these the Act of Uniformity and
some other Acts are repealed. A special clause is
inserted providing against the application of the
measure to the celebration of public worship.
The Sunday Liquor Bill is backed by Major
O'Reilly, Mr. Pim, and Mr. Peel Dawson. It seeks
to enact that no liquor shall be sold on Sunday,
Good Friday, or Christmas Day, except between the
hours of two and nine in towns, and two and seven
in rural districts. In rural districts the magistrates
are to have power to allow houses to be open between
seven and nine; and in towns the governing body
has power to declare the place a rural district for the
purposes of the Act. The penalty for infringing the
Act is five pounds for each offence.

MR. HARVEY LEWIS.
It is a pity that the senior member for Marylebone
does not follow the example of Mr. Gordon, one of
the defendants in the prosecution against the Overend
and Gurney directors. Mr. Gordon declares himself
innocent of the charges brought against him, and
there are many persons who believe that, however it
may fare with his fellow directors, he, at least, will
be acquitted. At present he has merely been com-
mitted for trial without any expression of opinion on
the part of the committing magistrate. Neverthe-
less, Mr. Gordon ha s res ign ed all his directorsb ipsra,ther
than that the companies with which he was connec-
ted should suffer through his relationship with them.
Mr. Harvey Lewis will do nothing of the sort. True,
a judge has accused him of fraud and falsehood; true,
that judge has declared that he and his co-defendants
ought to be turned out of the court ; true, some of
Mr. Lewis's constituents have expressed their con-
viction that he ought to resign. But he declines to do
so ; he asserts that he has a good answer to the charges
brought against him. lie may have ; but it
is not right that an important borough like Maryle-
bone, containing some of the highest class electors in
the kingdom, should be represented by a member
who is open even to the suspicion of such charges as
those which the Vice-Chancellor has denounced.
Boroughs cannot afford to wait while their members
are clearing their characters. Gentlemen who have
to go through that process ought not to have their
attention diverted from it by Parliamentary duties.

THE SALFORD ELECTION PETITION.

Baron Martin's decision in the Salford election
petition is being severely canvassed. The evidence
spewed that there was a swarm of paid canvassers,
that seventy-two cabs were engaged in defiance of
the express prohibition, that pugilists and mobs of
roughs were hired to intimidate the electors, that
beer was flowing freely, and that in two or three
instances there was actual bribery, though the
amounts paid were absurdly small. Nevertheless
the sitting members are declared duly elected. It is
impossible to conceive a more discreditably conducted
election than this; and yet it is allowed to stand.
The only inference is, that neither the Reform Bill
nor the Corrupt Practices Act has been of any
appreciable benefit. There is no reason why elec-
toral vices should not prevail as much as before.