The Sun.
London, England, 1858-12-14 00:00:00

of an hereditary chamber or an unpaid magistracy.
" It was not from the fragments of a throne or
plunder of a church that the supliorte:s. of the
Ballot desired to raise another temple t the free-
dom which imparts a dignity and charm to every
homestead of the island we belong to."
In 1833, when Mr. GROTE first submitted his
motion for the Ballot, Sir ROBERT PEEL frankly
objected that the Ballot would emancipate the
voter from the influence of property, that it would
give perfect vigour to the principles of the then
new Reform Bill; his argument was, indeed, that
the Ballot would do the very thing it was wished
to do. Most opponents now abandon this ground,
and plead all kinds of moral excuses for not con-
ceding it ; but the truth undoubtedly is, as Mr.
BRIGHT said at Manchester, that the real reason
for opposition to the Ballot is, that the argu-
ments in its favour are too well understood. Sir
ROBERT had the manliness not to deny that he
understood them.

To Lord MAdAULAY, in 1839, it was replied that
the Reform Bill was then but a recent settlement,
and that it was not needful to try the ultimate
measure before they had tried all other means of
suppressing bribery and intimidation. In vain he
argued then that intimidation could be met by no
laws, and we all know how thoroughly his argu-
ments have been verified by the results. There is
now no pretext for relying on our not having
minor schemes--all have failed, notoriously failed,
and there is no known remedy left but that which
we have uniformly demanded. We need, not,
however, extend our remarks, but heartily com-
[ mend again Mr. CAMPBELL'S speech to the atten-
tion of our readers, and the Hon. W. F. CAMP-
BELL to any constituency needing a thorough Re-
former as its representative.

Ribandism, so long the curse of Ireland, is again
becoming rampant in the Sister Kingdom. Lord
EGLINTON'S proclamation proved beyond the pos-
sibility of doubt that convincing information has
been obtained to show that secret and illegal
societies were again flourishing, and that it was
essential to the peace and tranquillity of the
country to nip the incipient treason in the bud,
and thus prevent the loss of many valuable lives,
and the demoralisation of every district into which
the atrocious system obtained a footing.
The attempted assassination of the Rev.
Mr. NIXON - the cold-blooded and deliberate
murder of Mr. ELY = proved that agrarian
outrages were again becoming rife, and that the
apostles of evil were again active in their infamous
vocation.

But there was something of even a more serious
character than simple murder or arson on the tapis.
It was not merely to shoot an obnoxious agent, or
a landlord who had the audacity to expect pay-
ment of the rent to which he was entitled. It was
not to burn the stacks of a tenant who had taken
land over the head of a member of the society, or
even to administer a gentle castigation as a mild
reminiscence of subscriptions in arrear to the
society. There were even higher aspirations—
nothing less than an invasion from the United
States, and the addition of Ireland to a position
amongst the luminaries in the star-spangled
banner.

These visions, indulged in by a few grocers'
assistants and others of an inferior class, seem to
be very ridiculous, but they :are very dangerous ;
not, of course, as to the final result, but as to the
intermediate mischief—the loss of many valuable
lives and the destruction of property. When
these illegal societies were in the ascen-
dant some five-and-thirty years since, no person
could trust even those who had appa-
rently rendered faithful services for a seriess of
years. The gates were opened, the watch-dogs
poisoned, and the assassins guided by men who, but
for the terrible conspiracy in which' they were en-
gaged, would have shed the last drop of their
blood in defence of the parties by whom they were
paid and fed. The fatal condemnation of the dread
tribunal—the Irish Vehmgericht—paralysed every
energy, and rendered even the most highly trusted
domestics participators in the intended crime.
" Prevention is better than punishment," and it
is greatly to the credit of Lord EGLINTON'S Govern-
ment that they decided on eradicating the deadly
seed before it had arrived at maturity.
The rewards offered for the apprehension and
conviction, not only of parties engaged in adminis-
tering illegal oaths, but of being members of the
unconstitutional society, will occasion a wide-
spread panic throughout their ranks. Every one
who knows that there is a price set upon his head
—that any of those present can obtain £5O or £lOO
by delivering him up to justice—must feel decidedly
uncomfortable while considering whether every
man of his numerous associates can be re-
garded as trustworthy. Had similar steps been
taken on former occasions the riband con-
federacy would never have grown to such
gigantic proportions, nor would the results have
been by any means so formidable. But former
Governments waited until the seed had taken root,
and the fruit had arrived at maturity. The gallows
and the convict hulks were readily available for
those who had graduated in crime, but there was
no obstacle or impediment placed in their way—no
warning administered to inculcate the necessity of
caution, or to convince them that the moment they
accepted the obligation they were at the
sacrey of the very lowest of their compa-
nions, possibly of one who would sell his
nearest and dearest relative for less than
one-half of what has been offered; or even worse
—of a treacherous spy, bent on betraying all into
whose society he has been admitted, and seeking
only to obtain the largest amount of blood money
practicable.
We believe that in offering timely rewards Lord
EGLINTON has rendered most important service to
the nation. He has prevented the growth of the
mischief, and saved many lives and a large amount
of property from destructiom. Perhaps the parties
who should feel most grateful are those who were
becoming entrapped in the meshes of the net. At
present they are comparatively clear, and a
few light examples may be deemed sufficient to
arrest the further spread of the mischief—to abate
the social nuisance. But when innocent blood has
been shed, when many have been implicated in the
highest crimes known to the law, justice will de-
mand a sterner retribution, and the expiation will
be much more terrible. Ireland has for some time
past been comparatively tranquil ; let us trust that
the misguided individuals who seek to disturb her
peace may be warned in time, and abandon the
evil courses on which they had so incautiously and
recklessly entered.

DIPLOMATIC APPOINTMENTS.—We believe that
the following appointments in the diplomatic service will
be soon officially nnuounced :—Lord Napier, at present
Minister at Washington, to succeed Lord Abercromby as
Minister at the Hague ; Lord Lyons, at present Minister at
Florence, to succeed Lord Napier as Minister at Washing-
ton; the Hon. P. C. Scarlett, now Minister at Rio Janeiro,
to be Minister at Florence ; the Hon. F. R. Forbes, from
Dresden, to be Minister at Rio ; Mr. L. Augustus Paget,
Secretary of Legation at Berlin, to be Minister at Dresden.
The state of the Dowager Empress of Russia is
most alarming. The members of the Imperial family have
all been summoned to St. Petersburg, according to a tale-
graphic despatch,