The Sun.
London, England, 1859-09-16 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES.

Sir,—ln your paper of the 27th ult., placed in
my hands since my return from Paris, I find a
letter from my fellow-countryman, Richard H.
Dana, jun., Esq., giving a brief history of the
ballot in Massachusetts.

Although generally correct in the details he has
furnished, Mr. Dana I think has inadvertently
fallen into a few important errors, which I beg
leave through your columns to correct.
After stating that although the ballot was at
first intended to be secret, such had been the modi-
fications of the original law, by subsequent enact-
ments which required that all votes should be depo-
sited open and unfolded, that it had virtually be-
come little better than the viva voce mode of vot-
ing, Mr. Dana proceeds to speak of the ballot law
of 1851, which provides that all votes should be
placed in sealed envelopes, of uniform " character
furnished by the State."
In giving an account of the operation of this
law, Mr. Dana says that " envelopes get opened in
the box, tumbling out their contents, and thus
were rejected."
This is a mistake. Such aresult was predicted by
the enemies of the law and feared by its friends,
but no practical difficulty whatever arose from that
quarter to remedy the difficulty. He has errone-
ously stated further that the authorities " were re-
quired to keep a supply of gluten at the polls to
aid in sealing." Here, again, the gentleman is
totally in error ; no such thing was done, and he
will search in vain for any such provision in the
statutes of Massachusetts.

What confused the mind of Mr. Dana in this
case probably was that certain disaffected oppo-
nents of the sealed ballot did in derision of the law,
at the first trial, carry gluten pots to the polls, but
there was no use for them, and those who thus con-
ducted only made themselves ridiculous.
In giving his final summary of the whole matter,
Mr. Dana says " that the attempt to introduce a
mode of ballot which shall be at once secret and
secure against fraud and reasonably convenient, has
so far failed with us."

Here I feel compelled to take a direct issue with
the gentleman ; that such is his sincere opinion I
do not doubt, but that such opinion is founded on
fact I deny. He does not bring any proof. And
" if the law has so far failed," he should have told
us why.

Will he say that it did not secure the entire in-
dependence of the voter; or that he could not give
what vote he pleased without the knowledge of
any one ? Certainly I think he will not venture to
do this, for, from the very nature of the case, the
law must and did ensure entire secrecy ; the voter,
in going to the poll, could take tickets of different
kinds from as many vote distributors as he pleased,
and from these at his own convenience select the
one he preferred, put it in the envelope provided
for him, seal it up and drop it into the box, and no
human being could possibly know how he voted,
nothing could be a more perfect protection, and T
have never seen it asserted anywhere that secrecy
was not obtained by the sealed ballot.
Will Mr. Dana say that the law did not entirely
prevent fraudulent voting P—l am sure he will not,
because he knows that under that law, double
voting by accident or design was certain to be de-
tected ; the words of the Act are, If in any case
more than one vote is found in any envelope, bear-
ing the name of the same person for the same office,
all but one of such votes shall be thrown out ; or if
two or more votes be found in any one envelope,
bearing the names of different persons for the same
office, all such votes shall be rejected." This, of
course, precluded all attempts at fraudulent voting,
and all accidental mistakes would be corrected, and
these accidents were known to have previously
been very frequent.
A respectable clergyman was detected a few
years since in depositing two votes which adhered
together so closely that he did not discover the fact
until informed of it by the inspecting officers. All
this was obviated by the new law.
Nor, lastly, will Mr. Dana, I presume, attempt to
prove that the law was so unreasonably inconvenient
or difficult, cumbersome or expensive, -as to bo
found impracticable. So far as expense was con-
cerned the sum total was not three cents per annum
to each voter of the Commonwealth; and so far from
being inconvenient, the use of the envelope
greatly simplified the mode of voting, and rendered
the use of more than one ballot-box unnecessary.
Under the old system I have myself seen as many
as six boxes in use at the same time for the different,
kinds of officers to be chosen : so convenient has it
been found, that in many cases, to my knowledge,
the envelopes are still used on account of their
greater convenience. If none of these specifications
can be sustained by proof—and I aver that not one
of them can be—how can it be said that " in so far
the law has failed ? "

Mr. Dana is one of the most distinguished men
of Massachusetts—holds a very high position at the
Bar as a man of integrity and honour—has no supe-
rior, and is entitled to profound respect—but I must
be permitted to say, that in regard to the question
before us, I think he is not sufficiently well in-
formed ; deeply engaged in his professional duties,
and far removed in all his walks and associations
from the ordinary affairs of political strife and agi-
tation, it is not surprising if in a matter apper-
taining to popular elections he should have in his
mind impressions rather than facts. 1 feel less
hesitation in speaking decidedly in regard to the
operation of the sealed ballot law of Massachusetts
during its continuance, than I should otherwise do,
had it not come especially under my personal ob-
servation. Holding the office of Secretary of State,
all the returns passed through my hands. As ex
officio Secretary of the Executive Council, I saw all
those returns opened and examined, and I know
that not a single case of dispute, informality,
or embarrassment arose from the use of
the envelopes, nor did a simple complaint
come up from any inspecting o ffi cerol
town clerk, of any of the 32 towns an d cities of
the
Commonwealth, of any difficulty or inconvenience.
I assert that the elections were never conductedithless
it
more satisfactorily and harm
harmoniously, o
labour and expense. But may be aslkraw in
ewd,iffuallll
this is true why was not so good a
force ? Mr. Dana and every other Massachusetts
man knows very well why it was not. In 1853
the Whigs, for the last time, got temporary posses-
sion of the government of the State, and as they
had ridiculed and opposed the sealed ballot while
out of power, one of their first acts of party spite
was, not/to repeal it, for that they dare not attempt
to do, so popular was the law, but under the plau-
sible plea that every man should be allowed to use
the envelope or not, they provided by an amendment
to the law that the use of envelopes should be op-
tional. This emasculated the law, as every man
who voted under envelope would be presumed and
taken to be hostile to the dominant party.
But it may be further inquired why is not the
sealed ballot restored,: since the Liberal party is
again in power ?—the reason is well understood in
Massachusetts. The Republiciin party, now in the
ascendant, is composed to a great extent of the in-
fluential members of the former Whig party, who
as they have been the persistent opponents of the
sealed ballot, object of course to its restoration, and
any attempt made for that purpose would divide
the party. In addition to all this, there is no
danger of intimidation in the present condition of
i
parties. In Massachusetts the Republicans are so
strongly in the majority, that there are no severenceorta certain
of
party contests, and when one party is
victory, no person cares how a particular individual
votes.

Consequently there is at present no occasion for
the protection afforded by the envelope. But let
the time come when party lines shall be well defined
and closely drawn, let the contending forces be so
equally divided that each section hopes for success,
partizans take the field to influence and intimidate
voters, as in times past, and the Sealed Ballot will
be demanded at once, and is certain to be restored.
—I am, Sir, your obident servant,

AbiASA WALKER.
•
London, Sept. 7, 1859.

A singular incident is related in the Memorial
de Courtrais as having just happened to a hotel-keeper in
that town. He had sent a lad about 17, with 5,000 f. of
French gold. to be exchanged' for Belgian bank-notes,
which the messenger regularly effected, receiving five
notes of I,ooof. each, but which he lost on his way home.
While the hotel-keeper was lamenting over his loss a little
girl, of five or six years of age, living at a short distance
from his house, brought to her mother a piece of paper, on
which was a small vignette, and which she said her brother
had cut out with a pair of scissors from a larger piece. The
mother recognising it as belonging to a bank-note, ran to
the child, and found near him a I,ooof. note cut into eleven
pieces. The child, on being questioned where he had found
the note, and whether he had any others, began to cry, but
at length said that hehad found them in the street, and had
put four others in a little box among his toys, intending. to
cut out the pictures from each. The loss of the hotel.
keeper having become known, the 'Woman restored him the
notes which remained whole, as well as the pieces of the
other. These latter having been carefully put together,
were taken by the bank and cashed the next day.

GEOLOGY OF SOUTII AWSTRALIA.

The Adelaide Observer says :—" A preliminary
report, embodying the chief conclusiens at which
Mr. Selwyn arrived from his survey of a portion of
this colony, has just been printed by order of the
House of Assembly. We regret that in Mr. Selwyn'ral
Ural
opinion neither gold, coal, nor deep-seated natu
reservoirs of water are likely to be found in anY
abundance in those portions of South Australia
which he has visited. And although this is onhe
ly
a preliminary report, it appears to contain all t
opinions which Mr. Selwyn has formed, and his,
further report will only amplify those opinions, ann.
furnish us with the grounds on which they are
based. For the present it will suffice to republish
Mr. Selwyn's report, reserving any comments we
have to offer until we are in possession of his com-
plete report."
The following is the report
Adelaide, July 1, 1859.—Sir,---I have the honour
to inform you that I returned to Adelaide last even-
ing, having completed a haEty geological examina
tion of as much of the colony as I have been able
to visit during the limited time I have had at 1319
disposal. The country visited and examined em
braces portions of the counties of Hindmarsh, Sturt,
Adelaide, Eyre, Light, Gwaler, and Stanley, Pass-
ing north by Mount Remarkable to a few miles
es
west of Port Augusta ; thence through the Flinde
Range as far north as the latitude of Mount
sin o 10611 i
lay and Mount Serle ; thence east to the ba
Lake Terror's, returning south by INlount
and
Chain-
the Burra. I regret that I shall be unable to report
rtant
favourably on either of the three very impor
bers, the Passmore, the Siecus, t
Black Rock,
points to which my attention has chiefly been
directed during this examination—namely, the
existence of profitably workable gold or coal flela "'
and the practicability of obtaining water in th°
northern districts on the artesian principle. Thougq
there are certain localities, chiefly within the settled
districts, which I shall refer to in my report, where
I think trials for gold might be made with a
rea-
sonable hope of success, I am notwithstanding 01-
opinion that no great extent of gold producing
country will ever be discovered in South Australia.
No indications whatever of coal, or even of the pre-
sence of carboniferous rocks, is to be found in anY
portion of the province that I have visited. If an
such exist, they must be sought either east of the
ill
Murray or west of Port Augusta. The artesian welt,
principle will not, I think, for reasons which I tole
point out in my report, be found applicable, or tobe
depended on as a means of p Oarocuring water in an Y,
of the districts I visited. Ordinary wells, dams,
• artificial pools and reservoirs will, I think, generally
be found to be a less costly and more certain means
of obtaining a sufficient supply of good water. Hav-
ing already somewhat exceeded the period of iny,
ue"
leave from Victoria, I have the honour to req
that you will excnse my sending in a final report
before quitting the colony, as it will take some time
to pr Tare ; it shall, however, be forwarded as early
as possible after my return to Melbourne.--I Nape'

&c:,

ALFRED R. C. SELWYN,
Government Geologist, Victoria.
Adelaide.
The Hon. the Commissioner of Crown Lando,

CRIME IN FRANCE.

wirtfhh ethCeoutrritalofofAtshsiezemahis
Bbeeueenhoaercduyaiegaedt7
4 714
in
the murder of M. Danin, in the lieu d'Enghien,
the night of the 31st July last. Of this
detailed account was given at the time. On to
night in question, the concierge of the hnn
heard a noise in the office, just above his lodger
of M. Danin, who was director of the Union Cod
:
merciale et Industrielle, and he went and rous.
up that gentleman. M. Danin hurried to One
office, but, before entering it, was met by a Mad
who stabbed him eleven times. He stagger
down stairs to the lodge, and expired almost
A :13111;
mediately. The office was on the entresol, anu,"
murderer letting himself down from the wind oh
got clear off. But he left behind him a Pnigil,a,,n
knife, and it was recognised as the property
01' ri.
Beuchard, who had been in the service re
Danin. It was evident from the state of the
mises that the murderer must have secreted 11“''''
self over night in the yard of an adjacent 110n.,,5e.
The guilty party, before enterino. M. Danin 's ersa";
ment, had taken off his shoes, and left them in the
yard, and they were recognised as Beuchard's•
addition, just after the murder had been comraitte
a man, resembling Beuchard, was seen Limping
along the streets, without shoes, and had hiinsed
conveyed to Montrouge in a cab. Beuchailr
was two days after arrested at that place. nie
had a sprain in his foot and cuts in his Win",
and he could not give any satisfactory account so
to how he came by them. These circumstance°
left no doubt of the man's guilt, and he but faintly-
denied it. The only matter on which there could
be any doubt was his motive for the crime ;
vehemently asserted that he had no other than the
desire to be avenged on Danin for having formed
an improper connection with his wife, who was
in his service, and had remained in it after be
(Beuchard) had left ; but a drawer in which Dania
was known to have kept his money had been
forced open, and there was reason to believe that
a sum of money, though it is not known hovi'
mach, was abstracted. On being interrogated by
the President of the Court, Beuchard answered:
"M. Danin took my wife from me, and to prevent
my seeing her not only forbade me to come to his
house, but would not permit her to leave it to go
to market, This irritated me, and on the 31st
July, on reflecting about the matter, I became ex-
asperated. I several times prayed God to give me
calm, but in amain. Fatal thoughts oppressed me,
and I went without reflection towards the house.
It is true that I entered the house, and when once
within, I went to my wife's chamber, but she was
not there, and I supposed that she was in Danin's.
A determination to be avenged then seized me !
looked about for matches to gef a light, and in sodoing
upset some papers in the office. M. Danin carne
up—l had a poignard in my band, and the misfor-
tune happened!" The President remarked that
this statement could not be true, inasmuch as it bad
been positively ascertained that his wife was in her
own chamber on the night in question. The man
persisted in saying that he had not gone to the
house to rob. A number of witnesses gave evidence
to the excellent character of the prisoner's wife, and
the belief in the court was that his whole story
concerning her and the deceased was entirely with-
out foundation. The jury returned a verdict of
guilty with extenuating circumstances, and the
Court sentenced the prisoner to haid labour for
life.

THIS DAYS MARKETS.

CORN EXCHANGE.

Only a limited supply of English wheat was on offer in
to-day's market, and its general condition was by no mew
fine. Selected samples were cleared off at full currencies'
but inferior parcels ruled heavy at Monday's quotations.
On the whole, a fair amount of business was transacted
in useful qualities of foreign wheat. In prices, however'
no change took place. The supply on offer was seasonably
large,
Floating cargoes of grain, off Falmouth, were a dull in-
quiry.
Fine barley was scarce, and in request, at from 428 to'
per qr. Other descriptions were a slow inquiry.
A+ on
On the whole,' a fair business was trE nsaoted 131...'" -
former tes. Fine was worth 70s per qr bit
Oats, breamns, and peas were dull, and the. turn lower;
the value of flour was well supported.

ARRIVALS THIS WEEK
4 Flour,
Wheat. Barley Malt.. Oa's' 1 050
2,680 ( 660 1 1670 ' 5° i '--
English
Irish
1 1 1,580 i
160 sks
Foreign
3,990 2,550 — 62,940 f
i

NEWGATE AND LEADENHALL.
The supplies of meat here to-day are rather exensive,
and the trade generally is heavy, at barely stational/