The Sun.
London, England, 1859-06-24 00:00:00

those old cities which has a very large proportion
of old freemen amongst its " free and in.dependent
electors." It seems they are quite free from and
independent of any foolish bias for a 'Whig or a
Tory candidate. From time immemo al they have
received a consideration for the tro ble of voting,
and the amount of that consideration, has always
decided the character of the vote. There has been
however, honour, high honour amongst them. For
instance, if a poor weaver was offered one guinea
by the Liberal candidate, and two guineas by
the Tory candidate, his fellow electors would never
forgive the frailty, the dereliction of electoral
virtue, which should hesitate to close with the two
guinea Tory. The perfection of honour and virtue,
however, is held to be to get the guinea from one
side first, and to make it the means of gaining the
other two guineas from the Tory.
At the late election party feeling ran very strong
—indeed it always does in Norwich—and it was de-
termined to unseat, if the usual means could do it,
the two Liberal members, Lord BURY and Mr.
SCHNEIDER. But the registration lists showed a
clear and undoubted majority of at least 500 elec-
tors who had been accustomed to vote on the
Liberal side. In a voting constituency of about
4,000 this was a large number to convert into a
safe minority. A fight, however, there must be.
Norwich Tories would not be worse than Austrians,
and could not think of letting the Liberals, there-
fore, walk the course. Now it appears, that, till
the very day before the election, the return of the
Liberal members was considered certain ; con-
sidered so by the uninitiated of both parties. On the
afternoon of that day, however, "a change came
o'er the spirit of their dream." The " knowing
ones" of the Conservative party met the " knowing
ones" of the Whig party with brightened coun-
tenances, with very expressive shrugs of the
shoulders, and the triumphant exclamation that it
was " all up with the Whigs"—that " they were
done"—" no chance at all "—" in fact the thing
was settled."

What could this sudden change mean ? The
answer was not far to seek. Numbers who waited
for the " consideration," after Tory sovereigns were
exhausted, rushed to inform the regular old Whig
managers of what was doing. Scouts and spies
were soon out, and it was ascertained that not
fewer than 700 votes for BURY and SCHNEIDER were
down in the Tory books for BIGNOLD and LUSH-
INGTON ! Now it seems that Whigs are every
whit as good hands at this game in Norwich as
Tories. There is not, we are told, "sixpence to choose
between them." To be beaten in a money battle at
a Norwich election is infinitely more disgraceful
than a victory won by bribery. In fact the latter
is only considered as a proof of the " pluck" of the
winning party.
The plan was soon laid. It was found that the
Tories had spent all their loose cash. Somehow—
the how not quite explained, no more money could
be got by them that night. Now, therefore, or
never; at it went the seasoned old Whigs, and in
the course of that night—that fatal night—they
overbought their antagonists by about 300 votes,—
having secured all that were yet available ! The
election morning dawned on the Tory hosts out-
flanked. Bravely they came to the poll. The
general public long thought the issue doubtful.
Not so the leaders. One side knew that they had
spent well, but both sides knew that the other
had spent better; and, by about two hundred, the
Whigs were masters of the field.

Now so notorious was the bribery that of the
success of a well-worked petition neither party
appeared to have much doubt ; and as the rejected
members could take no harm the Conservatives
virtuously resolved that the Whigs should not
enjoy the entire wages of political prostitution.
Give us, they said, one of the seats, and
we will not try to disturb the other. A clever
" dodge" this. How shall the Whigs evade it ?
Why, unluckily for the Tories, their adversaries
had come upon the trail of some money—and a
good round sum, too, from London—of its having
been raised in a way most undesirable for the
public to know. There had been a handsome sub-
scription in the city also—that was all fair game;
but to fight the city battle, not by city resourzes
only, but to call in the wealth of the Carlton—
that was not fair play. This 19ca1 leader on one
side would " fork out" as much as a local leader on
the other side ; but it was not fair play to bring in
foreign wealth. This was, of course, loudly com-
plained of, and became matter of current conversa-
tion. Those who fought in this way deserved to
lose.

But now a third party stepped forward—a party
very desirous to keep the present members in, both
of them being good Liberals, but even more
anxious to put an end by some means to this into-
lerable system of corruption. This party deter-
mined that if the election was disturbed it should
be to some purpose. A petition was, therefore,
proposed to the Corporation, praying for a full and
impartial inquiry into all the circumstances of the
late election, and suggesting that a commission, as
at St. Albans, should be sent down for that pur-
pose. It was framed not as a party, but as a
general petition ; it referred to the notoriety of
the circumstances, and to the London fund and
its nature ; and it was carried last Tuesday,
by the Corporation unanimously. It seems that
the Tories mustered their whole force against
it, but that, seeing they must be out-voted,
they made a virtue of necessity, and agreed
to pray for a "full and impartial inquiry."
Mr. BRIGHT was appropriately named as the most
proper person to present the petition.
Such are the leading facts and rumours in con-
nection with the Norwich petition against the sit-
ting Members, and the Corporation petition ; at
least such is what we can confidently state to be,
we may say, the uncontradicted rumours in the old
city itself. Of this we can speak from special in-
quiry made on the spot. We have only to ask, can
a stronger case be made out for giving that city, at
least, the Ballot ? Wholesale disfranchisement of
a city of 70,000 persons is impracticable. The con-
stituency must be increased, not diminished, and
the Ballot must deprive the briber and the bribed
of the power of getting and giving a poll-book re-
ceipt for money promised or paid. we trust a
Commission will be granted ; if it be, we believe
that such an extent of bribery and malpractices for
many years past will be disclosed as will almost
appal the House of Commons itself. Mr. BRIGHT
is not, we trust, the man to let such a matter be
compromised or drop.

FORWARDING PATTERNS TO SPAIN.—The
Spanish Post-office, as a rule, prohibits the circulation by
the post of all articles which are not either letters or printed
papers, and numerous covers containing enclosures other
than paper, addressed to Spain, have been returned to this
country undelivered. The Postmaster-General has now
induced the Spanish Post-office to modify its regulations so
far as to allow of the transmission of patterns and samples
through the poSt, under the following conditions :-Ist,
The patterns or samples themselves must be of no intrinsic
value whatever ; 2d, They must be enclosed in covers open
at the ends or sides, or in such other manner as to admit of
a thorough inspection ; 3d, The covers must contain no
writing except the usual trade marks and numbers. Packets
,of patterns and samples thus forwarded will be liable ii
this country to the same rates of postage as ordinary letters
for Spain, viz., 6d. for a packet not exceeding a quarter of
an ounce in weight, increasing for heavier weights at the rate
of 6d. for each quarter of an ounce ; and such postage must
in, all cases be paid in advance.
•The_Vienna Press states that Prince Metternich
has left three volumes of memoirs, or rather notes, 'all re-
latiinic to important political events, written by himself at
the tam Of their Kowa%