The Sun.
London, England, 1866-12-11 00:00:00

COLONIAL.

TEA.—A fair amount of busines has been dono, and late
rates are fully supported.
SUGAR.—There has been a good demand, anil prices are
steady. Refined goods remain in fair request, at steady
rates.

CorrEE.—For plantation Ceylon there has been a good
demand, and superior qualities have brought full rates.
Rim—There has been only a limited inquiry, but
holders show no disposition to reduce prices.
TALLOW.—There has been a steady market during the
past weak, with a fair business doing, and with rather
more inquiry from the trade, but prices remain without
alteration. The price of tallow at St. Petersburg for next
largest delivery is steady at 50 silver roubles ; exchange,
31i 15-16. For delivery in the last three months next
year some few hundred tons have boon done during the
week at 455. 6d., which is the exact price. To-day the
market is good. 445. is paid for the month ; 445. 3d.
January to March ; 455. March; 445. 3d. is demanded
for new Y.C. on the spot ; 445. is paid for old Y.C. South
American, 455. 6d.; town tallow, 435. 3d. nett cash.

Plurality of Votes at Elections.

Last evening a paper by Professor Lorrimer, of
Edinburgh, was read at the Social Science Associa-
tion in the Adelphi, Mr. W. T. S. Daniel, Q.C., in
the chair, on the principle of voting at elections.
He said there were four schemes in point of prin-
ciple in accordance with which the borders of politi-
cal power maybe extended. First, to give equal votes,
to an additional number of citizens, stopping short
at a certain point. This, he said, was the scheme
which for the present had taken exclusive possession
of the public mind, and to which the objections in
principle in the eyes of the constitutionalists are by
far the strongest, as it embodies the seeds of oli-
garchy, of democracy, and even of despotism, with-
out giving any gtiarantee for the advantages which
belong to any of these forms of government.
Secondly, to give equal votes to the whole commu-
nity. To this form it was objected that it was
founded on an erroneous conception of human
nature, and implied a violation of natural law.
Resting on the assumption that all men are equal,
it is founded on a falsehood, which it is vain to at-
tempt to convert into a fact by a violent levelling
of social conditions. Thirdly. A system of propor-
tional voting introduced and extended beyond the
limits of the present constitutions, but only so far
as to embrace a limited portion of the non-eleetors.
By this means one of the faults of the present sys-
tem would be got rid of, and a false' principle of
equality would be abandoned, and the suffrage, so
far as it went, would be placed on a basis of fact.
The gain both to order and to liberty would be
great, however limited might be the extent to which
the graduation was applied, or the franchise ex-
tended for the present. To this there was the ob-
jection that a scheme of partial graduation is that
by maintaining a fictitious boundary line where no
natural boundary can be found, that it created an
artificial separation between classes. Fourthly.
Universal graduated enfranchisement, by means of
which alone both the false principles of equality and
finality which vitiate the first scheme in conjunc-
tion and the second and third separately are got rid
of. A discussion ensued, in which Mr. F. Hill, Mr.
R. A. Macfie, Dr. Pankhurst, Mr. Hastings, Mr.
Best, and the chairman took part, after which the
paper was ordered to be printed, and the meeting
separated.