The Sun.
London, England, 1866-08-30 00:00:00

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.

TUTS DAY.—Morning, 4h. 38m.—Afternoon, 51i. Om.
To-Moßnow.-Morning, sh. 20m.—Afternoon, 511.40 m.

,C11.111111t.. 07N)--
-4\4

LONDON, TIIUI?SDAY, AUGUST 30, 1866

The Election Commissions continue their revela.

tions, which we can hardly call startling, inasmuch
as everybody knows the facts already, and bribery,

corruption, and intimidation are openly acknow-
ledged to be specially "English" virtues, without
whose assistance no member of Parliament could

be properly elected. But if we cannot profess a
strong feeling of surprise at the evidence given very
coolly before the Commissioners, we must have a

very low standard of political morality if we

accept such a system as these disclosures
reveal to us as part and parcel of the English
constitution. Every year the scandals are bad
enough, and this year they have certainly not grown
less. A noticeable feature is the matter-of-fact
manner in which the witnesses detail their proceed-
ings, evidently thinking all fair In political as well
as actual war. " Honour among thieves" the pro-
verb tells us, and though neither bribes nor bribed
must be classed in such company, they have, it
would seem, a standard of their own, and many
of the agents appear to think with Lord PAL-
MERSTON that the man who takes a bribe and does
not vote the way he was bribed to vote has
committed a breach of trust. One man indeed was
troubled by no such scruples, and coolly informed
the Commissioners that "he did not care about
having received money from the one side when he
voted for the other," and added the somewhat super-
fluous information that " he did not take a bit of
interest in the politics of either party ; he took no
interest in anything but himself." Then we have
a surgeon confessing that he is in the habit of can-
vassing his patients, and that having promised to
take a paralysed patient (since dead) to the poll
he found it necessary to bribe him with £l5
to get him to vote on the side he wanted.
But all these are contemptible items. Totnes is
far more lofty in its views. In that paradise a pig
is on occasion valued at £4OO, and gentlemen occa-
sionally require loans of some hundreds at election
times. The manner in which political vie ws change
with circumstances is amusing. An organist offi-
ciates in a locality where " they are all Whigs,"
and votes for the Whig candidate accordingly. Pre-
sently he accepts the post of organist under Tory
influence, and his votes go over to the other side.
It is an expensive amusement to contest an election
nowadays. The thousands go fast, and there is the
satisfactory knowledge that " more money is spent
than the voters get ; some sticks by the
way." And yet with it all, it is very generally
acknowledged that the worst cases never
come before the public at all. As in many other
instances, the secondary culprits catch the punish-
ment, and the ringleaders escape unharmed.
How many cases are there in which there
is an amicable compromise ? How many
in which the expense attendant on a
commission prevents any inquiry ? how many in
which local interests and personal feelings interpose
to prevent the exposure ? how many in which both
sides are too much involved for the loser to petition ?
how many in which bribery goes on on a smaller
and less barefaced scale, in which influence and
intimidation in all their powers aro brought to bear
•Arm ;••• 421,1,1r4 {.Am n "c
M. P.'s are returned to serve in Parliament, without
the employment on their behalf of some agency which
they would be ashamed to acknowledge ?
Are we then to consider the case a hopeless one?
Are these disgraceful exhibitions a necessary part
of our much-vaunted Constitution ? Are English-
men so devoid of political morality and public spirit
that the great majority have no care which
way they vote so long as they get enough
money ? If the extension of the franchise
is to be only an extension of bribery and
intimidation, we shall not gain much by Parliamen-
tary Reform. If in multiplying voters we are to
increase the expenses of an election, we shall have
the representation of the country entirely confined to
the monied class, and no man will venture upon a
contested election unless he can afford to throw
away his tens of thousands. And, then, when
these immaculate representatives of independent con-
stituencies are actually lauded at St. Stephen's will
they be very ready to run the risk of another elec-
tion ? The threat of dissolution will be all power-
ful, and rather than drive the Minister to such an
alternative the members will sacrifice their strongest
convictions, and the Government of the day will
become virtually dictators. This is an extreme
which could not long be tolerated by the people at
large, but it is notorious that the same influences
actually are in existence at the present moment.
Many of our boroughs are hopelessly out of the
reach of a man who is not wealthy, but too inde-
pendent to accept the interference of paid party
agents in his election. The unwillingness to face a
dissolution is a fact well known to Ministers on
both sides, and made use of frequently enough.
Members are not always complaisant enough
or subservient enough to do as three or
four gentlemen did in Sir ROBERT PEEL'S
time, and vote on different sides within a
week because the Minister made it a Government
question ! But less openly the same thing is done
over and over again in the course of every session.
What, then, is to be the cure of all this entangle-
ment of evil ? where is the guarantee that English
representative institutions shall really represent the
people? that a contested election shall no longer be
the picture of all the worthless or unscrupulous idlers
of the borough—no longer a gambling speculation
which can afford to throw away most money on bribery
and treating, which side can display most ingenuity
in breaking the law without being found out. Phi-
losophers who have been long deliberating over some
complex question are occasionally surprised to find
that all the while they have overlooked the
solution from its simplicity, and not unfrequently
the wise men refuse to accept the truth as truth,
the same
way
because it is so easy to arrive a
while every general election
increasestln h
thee
scandal,
while its evil effects extend snore or less through our
whole political system, while thousands are spent
annually in useless commissions, and Parliament
after Parliament has enacted laws and declared
penalties in vain, our Conservatives, who
are so anxious to preserve the purity of
the Constitution, our Liberals, who are so eager to
obtain an accurate representation of thepeople, can-
not bring themselves to adopt the simple and prac-
tical cure for bribery and intimidation which is
offered by the Ballot.

There is nothing very particular in the last news
from the Continent, but slowly and surely the cause
of peace seems to be progressing. The Austrians
and Italians have by this time come to a better un-
derstanding, and the difficulties that at first seemed
insuperable are fast vanishing. The battalions of
National Gaurds which were mobilised during the
war are being gradually sent to their homes, and

various other things have occurred which prove
that order is being restored. At Florence the ru-
mom. is denied that negotiations are being entered
into between the Italian and the Papal Govern-
ments, and the Nazione asserts that " no overtures
)lava been made to Italy for entering into negotia-
tions." Gen. MENABREA, who is at Vienna now to con-
duct affairs on the part of VICTOR EMMANUEL, has
a difficult task before him ; but he seems, according
to all accounts, to be getting on successfully in his
arduous undertaking. The Italians are evidently
getting the best of the bargain, as they will have
the advantage of all the labours of the Austrians
during past years, free of cost. Compensation
and war indemnities, which enter so largely into the
calculations of Prussia, have no mention in the
terms now being made in Vienna. It is well that
the Emperor of AUSTRIA has resolved to be so
liberal in his cession of the important province which
has so long been the theme of discussion and con-
troversy, and the source of so much disquietude and
disturbance. It is true that the EMPEROR had come
to the conclusion some time ago that the cession of
Venetia might be made sooner or later, and therefore
he has had ample opportunity for preparing himself ;
but still men are not always the better disposed
when they have been forewarned of the necessity
of a sacrifice. That it is a sacrifice, and a heavy
one too, there is no denial, and coming at the same
time as the exclusion of Austria from the German
Confederation, it is indeed disheartening. Had the
Government of Vienna been wise enough to give up
Venetia some time ago, the treaty between Italy
and Prussia would not have been made, and a far
larger force would have been at the disposal of the
EMPEROR. It seems, from the accounts given by the
prisoners just exchanged on both sides, that the
conduct of the Austrians and Italians forms a strik-
ing contrast to that of the Prussians, and that
all prisoners were well treated. An applica-
tion has been made by the General for the
iron crown of Lombardy, which was taken away
by the Austrians at the period of the battle of
Magenta, when they retreated from Lombardy,
and the Austrians will show their good sense and
good feeling if they give up those relics of the past
which can avail them nothing, but which, if with-
held, would greatly offend the Italians, and the
possession of which would otherwise greatly en-
hance the value of their restored possessions, and
realise a completeness to the work of restoration.

Perhaps in consequence of the more friendly re-
lations that seem to have sprung up between the late
contending parties a rumour is now afloat to the
effect that a " tri-partite alliance" will be entered
into between Austria, Prussia, and Italy. The only
possible object of such an arrangement would be to
make a stand against France, and it is not likely
that Austria would care to promote the interests of
Prussia. We do not see in the event of this taking
place that the friends of peace will have much cause
to congratulate themselves, because at any moment
a dispute might arise which would speedily derange
the plans preconcerted, and leave all again in con-
fusion and disorder. The unsatisfactory state of foreign
affairs prevents the Emperor NAPOLEON leaving for
Biarritz, and however the authorities may have settled
matters, the French people are by no means satis-
fied with the result. The pamphlets of M. DE LA
ROCHEJAQUELIN seem to make out that a war be-
tween France and Prussia is inevitable in the long
run, and it shows also how much France has been
unsettled in various directions. In a European
conflict the Marquis believes that France will be
alone, and she must therefore be prepared for the
emergency. In conclusion he urges upon the
EMPEROR the importance of decision, for if he says
the word all France, without any distinction of
quality, will be unanimous in his :support.
Prussia must not be mistress of the world, nor
impose her laws upon it. There may be some
truth in the declaration here made that France
would have a better chance of success if she con-
fronted the Prussians before the establishment of
North Germany was completed, and while Austria
was burning with indignation at the injuries she has
sustained. The independence of France should be
the first consideration, and lost time can never be
recovered. if Count BISMARCK be satisfied at the
aspect of affairs in France he will one day find
that he is resting on a false hope, and that his
security is quite illusory.

There is nothing more sad in the results of the
late mortality from the spread of cholera than the
condition of those who are left on the " wide, wide
world" as destitute orphans. It is indeed deplorable
to think of their fate, and to feel how changed their
position has been by the sudden visitation of the
epidemic. We all know pretty will by this time
what is the state of workhouse children, and there-
fore it is idle to talk of leaving these little ones to
the tender mercies of parish officials. As
to its being the duty of the parish to
look after them is not the question to
to be raised just now ; but we should rather

think what else can be done to better their state.
The proposal of Mrs. GLADSTONE to form a perma-
nent orphanage seems to offer a very satisfactory
solution of the difficulty ; it is hard measure indeed
to decree that they must all be sent to the work-
house, and yet no one can say that anything else
can be done for them with very few exceptions. It
has been said that there are already many institu-

tions of a similar character that the public are more
or less called upon to support. This is very true,
but an exceptional case here presents itself to our
notice, and should be treated accordingly. It is quite
a mistake to suppose that it will be serving a
wise purpose to prevent the completion of this
undertaking. On the contrary, it will be not only a
benevolent but a most useful labour thus to put these
children in a place where they will be sheltered from
harm, and taught useful lessons for the future. It
should be borne in mind that these orphans have a
claim upon us in addition to the pleas which huma-
nity might urge as to their helpless condition : they
have been in a great measure deprived of their
natural protectors in consequence of the great
neglect and culpable errors that have prevailed in
the management of our sanitary laws, and in all
probability, had proper care been taken, the cholera
woulditnseinveirldheasvt have appeared, ofroratenlceoatsitragng
havei pau-
perism so in -
perism and mendicancy such a plan is the one best
' calculated to prevent these evils. To add to the
number of those wretched children who are stigma-
tised as " paupers," and rarely succeed in issuing
from the slough of despond with which misfortune
or crime has driven them before they were con-
scious
of their position, would be, indeed, a great
error to make. There are always plenty of per-
sons found to take up a work of this
kind, if it is once fairly put in execution ;
and it is surely a wise and beneficial course to pur-
sue to rescue these orphans from want and misery,
and to put them in the way of learning their duties
to GOD and man, and of earning their own liveli-
hood in honesty and sobriety. We trust that Mrs.
GLADSTONE'S project will meet with the success
which it deserves, and we can confidently assure
those whom it concerns, that, in supporting this
effort, they will be rendering an important service
to society, and affording to those who arc now
helpless a chance of independence that once lost to
them can never be restored.