The Sun.
London, England, 1867-01-15 00:00:00

BRIBERY AND CORRUPTION.

A general election, with its parade, hustings, and polling
booths, is a great evil, for it excites the'passions and takes
the attention of the people from their ordinary avocations.
But this is not all, for the drinking and demoralisation con-
current on so much fuss and parade is beyond conception
Let the names of candidates be sent to the returning officer
one month before the election, and let him publish a list of
of the candidates, fixing the time and places of polling.
After the polling is over the lists will be made up, and the
result published in the Gazette. The candidates will issue
their printed addresses, hold meetings, and canvass the
voters personally ; but there will be no hustings or polling-
booths, and all will pass over almost as quietly as town
council elections. This improvement will do more to put
down bribery and corruption than any other means.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.
I propose that this board should consist of 50 members,
elected by the corporations of the large towns and the ma-
gistrates of the chief counties, 'say, 25 members from the
towns, and 25 from the counties. The duties of this board
will be to prepare bills for the consideration of Parlia-
ment; both the bills, public and private, submitted to
them by others, and bills they originate themselves. As
this board will be constituted by Act of Parliament, it
will be competent for Parliament to reform or abolish it
at any time. In the administration of its duties the Legis-
lativo Council will be independent either of the, Parliament
or the Crown, as much so as the bank of England or the
Metropolitan Board of Works. With the proposed board to
assist it the House of Commons, with its 350 members,
will have ample time to get through its work without
nightwork, as at present; and as regards its acts, compared
with those of the present house, it may be expected to
throw all past legislation into the shade.
The following are the hoads of the proposed bill :-
Ist. The House of Commons to consist of 350 members,
elected by the boroughs and counties of the 'United King-
dom. There will be no necessity to make distinctions be-
tween the three portions of the kingdom, but to treat Eng-
land, Scotland, and Ireland as one country.
2d. Seventy members of the house to retire annually in
rotation, their places to be filled up by an annual election.
3d. The right of the Crown to dissolve Parliament to
remain unchanged.
4th. The freemen in boroughs to be disfranchised.
sth. The qualification for the franchise to be a rental of
six pounds in towns and counties.
6th. Small boroughs and boroughs now joined together
as one to be disfranchised and thrown into the counties.
The boundaries of large boroughs to be extended so as to
relieve the counties as much as possible.
7th. Population, property, and special circumstances to
be considered in distributing the seats for boroughs and
counties.

Bth. The nomination of candidates on the hustings and
other useless formalities to bo abolished.

Having now given the outlines of my scheme of Parlia-
mentary Reform, I will conclude with one or two remarks.
Past experience has shown that we cannot have a Reform
Bill oftener than once in thirty years. That being so, I
have looked to the probable wants of the next generation
in drawing up the bill as well as present wants.
Electoral Reform has occupied the attention of the voters
for the last forty years or more to the exclusion of almost
every other national reform,which has retarded the progress
of legislative reforms,an evil which cannot be exaggerated.
At last we may expect peace and contentment, for when a
bill so comprehensive and liberal as that now proposed is
passed, the attention of the voters will be taken off Electoral
Reform and directed to Legislative Reform, the one being
only a means to the other. That the Reform of Parliament
now proposed will prove a real boon to the country I do not
doubt; neither do I doubt that it will greatly strengthen
the Constitution and promote the interests of all classes.
At present we have a great many private bills passed
every year, but very few public bills, but when we have
the Reformed Parliament and the Legislative Council we
shall have all this reversed, fur then we shall have more
public bills than private bills. The great reduction of the
number of members will be supported out of doors, but
opposed in the house, as it will throw so many out of their
seats. But this is a difficulty which a dissolution of Par-
liament will remedy. The minister who opposes the bill
must give the house to understand that it is their intention
to recommend a dissolution in the event of the bill being
thrown out, whfch will show the house that it will be
useless to oppose the bill on selfish grounds.
I have only further to say that if my plan of Parliamen-
tary Reform is favourably received, I will then proceed to
complete it by giving a list of the boroughs and counties
to be disfranchised end represented, and as I am not con-
nected with any political party the impartiality of the work
may be relied on. A. ALISON.

41, York-terrace, Regent's-park, Jan. 12, 1867.

THE KING OF PRUSSIA AND COLONEL WALKER.
—On Christmas-eve Colonel Walker, Military
Attache at Berlin, received an autograph letter from
the King of Prussia, conveying to him, with warm
expressions of regard and goodwill, the war medal
of 1866, permission to accept which had arrived on
that day from England. Shortly afterwards a
servant of the Crown Prince brought Colonel
Walker a parcel containing a most kindly-
expressed autograph letter, his portrait, and a
black marble paper weight engraved with the names
and dates of the battles of Nachod, Skalitz, and
Koniggratz. The ornament on the top of the paper-
weight is the decoration of the second-class of the
Red Eagle, with crossed swords, which the King
had previously requested through the British Go-
vernment to be allowed to confer on Colonel
alker, but that permission to accept had beeh re-
fused.
The Italie states that it may be considered as
certain that the Pope has come to an understanding
with M. Tonello, the Envoy from the Italian Go-
vernment, upon the principal points of his mission.
The only point which remains to be settled regards
the reduction of the number of Dioceses, but the
delay only turns upon an obstacle of form, and it is
expected that the difficulty will very shortly be
overcome.

A report was presented from Mr. Ball, the
cashier and accountant, from which it appeared
that the total amount received by the committee
was £19,461 ss. Id., of which sum £15,000 re-
mained in the hands of Messrs. Bevan, the bankers
of the committee, by whom it was now resolved that
of that sum £13,000 should be placed at interest, at
seven days' call. It was further mentioned that
speaking in round numbers the receipts in London
were £20,000, in Yorkshire .£10,290, and in Stafford-
shire about £5,000, giving a total of £35,000. In the
course of the sitting of the committee the Lord Mayor
communicated the tenour of a report received from
the local committee of the Oaks Colliery Relief Fund
at Barnsley, from which it appeared that the col-
liery proprietors had paid to the representatives of
the deceased miners a full week's wages, and other
gratuities. It also sets forth that the great majority
of the deceased miners were members of the Miners'
Association, a body which up to the present time
had honourably fulfilled their duties towards the
survivors. To the widows whose husbands had been
recovered the sum of £8 each had been paid, and to
those widows whose husbands still remained in the
pit the sum of £4 each had been paid, whilst each
widow had received ss. per week, and ls. per week
for each child. All this was from the same source,
and in this way the Miners' Association had already
expended about £1,600 upon the sufferers from this
calamity. The Lord Mayor added that the commu-
nication from the Oakhill Relief Committee disclosed
the following facts relating to the numbers of the
sufferers :—Women 156, children 330 ; total, 486.
Parents who were supported by their sons-4 men,
12 women, and 1 child ; total, 17. Orphans--4
children. Single women 5, children 3 ; total,
8. Families of men burnt-4 men, 4 women,
and 12 children ; total, 20. And other per-
sons-2 women and 4 children ; total, 6.
These figures give a total of 60 men, 236 women,
and 362 children ; total 658, showing the calamity
had been to a much greater extent than at first had
been anticipated ; and the local committee added,
that to give efficient relief not less than £75,000
would be really requisite; and towards this the
local committee held cash £7,927 11s. 6d., and they
bad received promises to the extent of £2,365 4s.
Bd., giving a total of £10,292 16s. 2d. Information
had reached the committee from the Staffordshire
district that the total sufferers were 195. The report
from Barnsley urged that the distribution of their
funds would in no way be allowed to interfere with
the relief granted by the poor-law guardians, and
they invited the London committee to frame a sys- '
tern by which a permanent fund for relief in similar
cases should be established. After some discussion
it was arranged that the local committee should be
requested to send up their plans for that object, and
with this the committee adjourned. It may be added
that during the day a donation (first instalment)
was received from the gentlemen of the London
Commercial Sale-rooms of £l3O, and a donation of
£lO 103. from the Right Hon. the Chancellor of the
Exchequer.

The Riots at Dungarvan.

DUBLIN, Jan. 14.

On Friday, the sth day of the inquest at Dun-
garvan, to inquire into the cause of O'Brien's death,
Mr. Heard, sub-Inspector of Constabulary, was
the first witness examined. He deposed that he saw
stones thrown among the Lancers from the crowd
within the railings—about 40 people. He saw one
Lancer prodding at a man through the rails with his
lance; he could not say with what end. The en-
closure was cleared, and the people escaped into a
meadow, from which they continued to throw stones.
The constabulary cleared them away, without stab-
bing them or harming them in any way, and they
received no injury themselves.
Daniel Connor, a constable, stated that he was
one of the escort of the voters coming over the
bridge, and he saw the stones flying right and left.
He saw ono Lancer raise his left arm to avoid a
stone.

John Cole, another policeman, deposed that he
was one of the escort in charge of the voters coming
over the bridge ; that he saw 20 or 30 stones thrown
at the military, police, and voters from inside the
railings ; and that the military were doing nothing
to the people at the time.
At this stage one of the jurors remarked that they
had no doubt stones were thrown, but they wanted
to have some one produced as a witness that was
hurt by them. Where were the wounded ?
Mr. Julian replied that they had none of the
wounded people on the other side.
Mr. Hatchell, resident magistrate from the county
of Galway, was on duty on Dec. 29, escorting into
the town 200 voters, having with him a troop of
Lancers, under the command of Capt. Orred. They
were met by a troop of Lancers under Capt. Le
Quesne, Major Wombwell, and Mr. Greene. He
saw stones thrown before the advanced guard had
crossed the bridge. He saw them in the air. The
Lancers then wheeled round, but did nothing un-
necessarily offensive to the people. The voters
went on protected by an infantry escort and some
•of the Lancers. Those who remained behind were
received with volleys of stones. Witness's horse was
struck in several places. He saw three or four Lan-
cers struck with stones, and the shako of one knocked
off. He never saw such large stones thrown in his
life anywhere. Before the Lancers went down the
quay they were pelted with stones. The whole thing
lasted about a minute or two.

Surgeon Gulleno, of the 6th Regiment of In-
fantry, stationed at Fermoy, examined several of
the soldiers on duty on the occasion in question, and
made the following return :—" MajoriV ombwell,
contusion of right hand ; Sergeant-Major Bromley,
contusion, back of head, ditto left temple, ditto
bridge of nose; Sergeant-Major Hannon, cut on
right hand; Farrier-sergeant Filler, contusion over
right eye ; Private Richard Owen, cut, left hand ;
Private Charles Barber, contusion, right eye ; Pri-
vate John Kinnier, contusion, left elbow ; Private
Richard Harnerton, contusion, left wrist ; Private
James Hamerton, contusion, right knee, ditto, ab-
domen."
witness—There were 20 others who stated that
they had been struck with stones and bottles, but
did not show me any injuries, and I did not examine
them. The contusion on the head of Sergeant
Bromley was on the left part of the occipital bone,
and was severe ; it is not quite healed yet. The con-
tusion over his left temple caused a black eye, and
he had a cut over the bridge of his nose. I was
only speaking of the detachment of the Lancers at
Fermoy. I know nothing of the Cork detachment
of the Lancers that were at Dungarvan.
Captain J. C. Orred deposed that there was no
truth in the statement that the 12th Lancers ran
away in India. The professional gentleman who
made it bad apologised. He was in command of
his troops on the day of the election, and he saw
what he would call a shower of stones and black
bottles thrown at them from a house at the right-
hand corner of William-street and the square. Two
of the men were struck, one cut in the hand, and
the other in the right eye. On a second occasion

he saw showers of stones a-the
struck himself on his shako, whiet Ett
None of his men used their lances: One`bYthc
a bruise on the wrist. The conduct of the crowd was
exceedingly violent, the conduct of the men of his
regiment exceedinglyforbearing. If a lancerrode up
and stabbed Capt. Kiely as described, he would say
he was a disgrace to his flag. If a lancer was strnek
with a stone by a man who then ran away, and the
lancer pursued him, knocked him down and killed
him, witness would say he was justified, not in kill-
ing him, bit he thought huihan flesh and blood
could not enders injury like that without acting in
self- defen co.
The Coroner—You think that if a stone was
thrown by a man at a lancer, thelancer was justified
in striking, though not in killing hint ?—What
said was that I believed he was not justified in kill-
ing the man, but human flesh and blood could not
stand being stoned without retaliating in self-de-
fence. He saw no troops injured that day. When r,
trooper does retaliate, he is not justified in using Ilia
lance. He saw no lances used that day, nor did the
lancers charge. He saw no blood on any lance, Saw
one of his men strike at a green flag with hls lance,
and did not check or reprove him. The lancers were
not insulted with the party cry, " Down with the
Tories !" for soldiers have no politics. A lancer is
not justified in using without orders either end of
his lance, if he is stoned volley after volley, unless,
at the imminent risk of. his life, and there is no 0f6,-
cer present.
Capt. Le Quesne deposed that his men were sober
on the election day. He saw no bottles thrown. He,
was not struck himself, nor did be see any of tae
men struck, or hear offensive expressions. At the
bridge he saw stones thrown on both sides from the
crowd. No military inquiry was made about the
death of either of the two men, Capt. Kiely and W.
O'Brien, nor was any report made by the officers.
It was not witness'sbuiwass,to make eny inquiry to
assist that court in finding the names of his men.
who went down the quay. Mr. Arundel, whom 1a,3
left in charge of his troop during a few minutes he
was absent, is a Roman Catholic.
The inquiry was then adjourned till this merning.