The Sun.
London, England, 1869-02-24 00:00:00

PARLIA3IENTAItY ELECTIONS.

The Ipswich Town Council has added its voice to
that of several of the northern towns in advocating
an abolition of the hustings, and has adopted a
petition to the House of Commons, setting forth
that the process of nomination of candidates at
municipal elections, instituted by the Municipal
Elections Act, 1859, exhibits a simple, practical,
and inexpensive method of nomination by means of
nomination papers, and, with slight modifications and
security to the returning officer for his expenses,
would answer also for Parliamentary elections.

Mr. Fawcett's bill for amending the laws relating
to the expenses of returning officers at elections has
been published. It contains only six clauses, and
,provides that the expenses lawfully incurred by the
returning officer, for to hustings, &c., at any future
election, shall be paid out of the county or borough
rates. Where the county is divided, the several
divisions must each pay their own rates. It
provides against a large number of " dummy "
candidates, by requiring those who do not poll a
fifth of the electors to be liable for their share of the
expenses.
TILE ARCIMISHOP OF TORK ON TEMPERANCE.

The Archbishop of York, at a recent meeting on
the liquor traffic, drew attention to" two little facts."
One of them was thus reported in the Times : that
"every man, woman, and child in thiscountry,talsing
the average, consumed two gallons and one-fifth of a
gallon during the year." Pure alcohol being twice
as strong as brandy, it followed that the average of
strong spirits for each person was about four
gallons. A Mr. Beckwith thought he had here
discovered a mistake, and wrote to the Times
assuring the public that that was about four times
the real amount. "W. Ebor " replies to this by
stating that Mr. Beckwith in his estimate " takes no
account of wine, of which 13,500,000 gallons were
used in 1867, ranging from 7 per cent. of alcohol to
25 per cent. ; nor of the ale made from 47,500,000
bushels of malt, eked out with some sugar and
molasses ; nor of British wines, nor of cider. The
ale consumed in England contains- far more alcohol
than the ardent spirits do. Even should there be an
error, his Grace thinks that " enough will remain to
give motives for all right reasonable attempts to
diminish the temptat:ous to drinking."

110 W TO FOSTER CRIME.

Our present system of dealing with criminals seems
especially designed to allow all the worst offenders
to escape, and to punish heavily thoso whom
surrounding circumst Inces make comparatively inno-
cent. We make the police powerless in cases
where they ought to be able to act ; and the police
themselves are incapable when they are given
power, and when promptitude is most needed.
We allow George Roberts, under two life sentences,
and with no end of minor commitments hanging
over his head, to roam where he wisteth without
any surveillance worthy of the name ; we let a man
loiter about, with the evident intent of committing
crime, until, the policeman being out of the way, he
is able to do his work without molestation ; and when
a murderer has committed a more than usually
atrocious deed we have nobody with ingenuity
enough to track him. Only a few months back a lad
who had murdered his mistress was discovered only
by reason of his own foolish ness in stealing some trifling
artcle, which got him into prison, where he was
accidentally discovered. Now we find the man
Cooper, who more than a fortnight ago committed a
double murder at Poplar, untraceable, and, if he be
only wise enough, clean gone from our hands. Pro-
bably when Mr. Bruce is called to answer for the
man, he will tell the public (as he did the House of
Commons on Monday night, in the case of George
Roberts) that the escape is due " entirely to the
mans own merits, and not to the fault of the
Government." The public, however, is likely to
inquire solicitously after the health of the much-
lauded Detective Department, Scotland-Yard.