The Sun.
London, England, 1858-05-08 00:00:00

LIMERICK ELECTION COMMITTEE.

The select committee appointed to try the merits
of the petition complaining of an undue election
for the city of Limerick, met for the first time yes-
terday in Room No. 2—Mr. Dunlop in the chair.
The other members of the o-immittee were Mr.
Cowan, Mr. Sterling, Mr. Child, and Mr. Gurney.
The petition was presented by Mr. Thomas
Cochrane, of Singlaud, in the county of Limerick,
miller, and Mr. Edward Hartigan, of Barrington.
street, Limerick, attorney-at-law. The petitioners
alleged that Mr. Geo. Gavin, the sitting member,
was by himself and his agents guilty of bribery and
intimidation at the la,t election for the city of
Limerick, which took place on the 15th of Febru-
ary last, and they therefore prayed that the said
election might be declated wholly null and void.
The defeated candidate was Mr. John Ball.

Mr. Edwin James, Q C., Mr. G. S. Venables,
and Mr. Sullivan, of the Irish bar, appeared for
the petitioners ; and Mr. Slade, Q.C., and Mr.
Q C., for the sitting member.
Mr. James, Q.C., opened the case. He said the
borough electors of Limerick numbered about 1,900
—3onsisting of 81. householders, 501. freeholders,
and old 40s. freeholders who were registered before
1849. The constituency was partly rural and par;ly
municipal ; but none of the voters were open to
such imputations as had been brought home to the
freemen of Galway. On the elevation of Mr. Ser-
geant O'Brien to the bench, a vacancy occurred iu
the representation of the borough, and two candi-
dates entered the field, namely, Mr. John Ball,
formerly a member of the house, and Under-Secre-
tary to the Colonies ; and Major Gavin, a gentle-
man resident in the neighbourhood. At the close
of the poll 782 had been registered for Major
Gavin and 733 for Mr. Ball, and the former gentle-
man was of course returned. The intimidation al-
leged against the sitting member and his agents was
promoted by mobs engaged by the agents of Major
Gavin to prevent electors voting for Mr. Ball. After
the election in 1852, a series c f outrages were com-
mitted by the Young Ireland party on those electors
who had voted against their candidates, and at the
last election in February the same system of
threatening was resorted to, spreading terror and
and alarm wholesale amongst the electors. The
I consequence was, that many electors were pre-
vented recording their votes in favour of Mr. Ball.
So excited did the town appear, that it had to be
guarded by 1,600 troops and 400 armed con-
stabulary.
Mr. Slade, Q.C.—More than double the number
of the force with which General Havelock relieved
Luckuow.
Mr. James said no doubt tl'at was so. The force
was needed to keep clown the fury of the mobs
whom the violent harangues of Mr. O'Donnell, the
election agent of the sitting member, had provoked
into the use of open force against Mr. Ball's party.
The town and district of Limerick suffered severely
by the Tipperary Bank, and Mr. O'Donnrell_r-
judiced the minds of the electors against Mh . B 11
, Sad •
by representing that his name was
leir Ball," and that he had been the pb‘raitnjc,ifsnaal
(1%7 -r
coctor of the Tipperary swindle," and_towever,
from
was the dupe of this Ball." So fa„rq,,letrt
which
there being any truth in thoefsem‘a
Major Gavin, Mr.
were made in the p
Ball was never even- orensesnceakina terms with either
of the Sadleirs, while so far from being connected
with the Tipperary Bank, he knew nothing
of what-
ever its concerns. Not content with thus in-
flamin
the minds of the electors, Mr. O'Donnell
o.
in an 'ungentlemanly spirit traduced Mr. Ball, by
describing him as "a fellow who commenced life as
a briefless barrister, and who afterwards got himself
made a poor-law commissioner, to obstruct the holy
office of the Roman Catholic chaplains in the Irish
workhouses." The consequence of all this calumny
and • intimidation was the rejection of Mr. Ball,
whose supporters were afraid to poll for
him, or he would have a hundred majo-
rity. Not content with abusing Mr. Ball,
the agents resorted to a system of bribery