The Sun.
London, England, 1859-10-21 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 21, 185

Already the unseated, if their places were
supplied by Derbyites, would have given that side
the majority. But Tories cannot boast. Glouces-
ter and Wakefield have demonstrated that had
Lord DERBY obtained a majority, that, too, would
have been a purchased majority. There is nothing-
to choose, in this respect, between either party, and
Sir JOHN PAKINGTON did not hint that there was.

It may be truthfully affirmed that even a majority
of 50 in the House of Commons, as things now stand,
may be destroyed by free resort to bribery. There
arc certainly at least 25 boroughs in the kingdom in
which money spent as freely as at Gloucester or
Wakefield, we may add Norwich and Berwick,
would have carried the election. Sir JOHN will
perhaps be taunted with Dover, and we are by no
means prepared to defend what he did there. Let
it be recollected, however, that it was but follow-

ing too faithfully the precedents furnished in, what
was understood to be a Government borough, by
other First Lords of the Admiralty. 'We quite
believe that no man in the House would be more
willing than Sir JOHN to take all such unworthy
influence out of the hands of the Government.
We adverted the other day to the demoralising
influence of bribery on the candidate class,
and nothing in the late investigations has
pained us more than to see what unworthy
artifices and equivocations it has led gen-
tlemen to resort to. Not the least culpable
being, that most common of all, what we
may properly term corrupt ignorance. Surely
hardly any immorality can be much greater than
to minister to crime, and yet by avoiding sight
of the commission of the crime itself to fancy your-
self innocent. Let corrupt ignorance be branded as
it ought. It is not ignorance. The candidates at
the boroughs referred to did know that bribery
must be going on. Either they are such idiots as
to be on that account disqualified for representing
any constituency in the House of Commons,
or they had sense to know that thousands
of pounds could not be required for honest purposes
with constituencies not exceeding 1,000 or 1,800
voters. Technically, legally, perhaps, these gentle-
men did not know what was done with their money.
Though it was sent in sums so large, and sent secretly,
yet they had no knowledge of what they did not see
done with it. But would any, of them tell a friend
that they had no suspicion, amounting to moral
certainty, that their purses were the fountains of
corruption, at which hundreds of voters were de-
filing themselves.
Some persons will talk lightly of bribery—
" Oh the poor fellows are glad of it,"—•it's a wind-

fall for them once in a while," and so forth. We
believe, in old seasoned, boroughs, like Norwich,
Yarmouth, and those now under the Commission
harrow, there is a good deal of feeling of this kind.
We have even known men boast of the vast sums
of money they have spent in winning an elec-
tion ; Alderman CARDEN himself was said
to have boasted on the Exchange of the money
he had spent on political objects. But do
such men seriously think of what they laugh
about ? We know but too well that the greater
part of what is received in bribes goes in dissipa-
tion. It is received by unprincipled persons, and
spent in drunkenness and vice. It does• not even
do the receiver any pecuniary service while it mi-
nisters to their sensuality. But worse than that—it
makes them one and all, as Lord BROUGII.A.M observed
morally guilty of perjury. Each takes the bribe,
knowing that he may be called on to take the
bribery oath, and of course prepared to take it, or
openly to confess himself guilty. Ninety-nine out
of a hundred, of those who take bribes, do so, we
believe with Lord BROUGHAM, fully intending to
perjure themselves if called on to take the oath.
With him, we therefore hold them morally guilty
of perjury, and those who furnish the money as
morally guilty of subornation of perjury.
We cannot, of course, dwell on the subject now,
but it should be borne in mind that suppression
of the grosser forms of bribery is but half doing the
work. By all means let us render Gloucester and
Wakefield doings impractiable ; but the cruel
bribery of intimidation, of undue influence ; of
a proprietor of land, almost without saying
a word coercing his tenants ; of the lawyer, ban-
ker, and creditor coercing their clients and debtors ;
of all the nameless unfair means by which one man
overbears the judgment and the electoral liberty of
another—these evils are far more extensive than
the more loathsome ones just now before us, and
for them there is but one known remedy—the
BALLOT. A remedy which need not supersede,
but would rather come strongly in aid of those pro-
posed by Lord BROUGHAM and Sir JOHN
PAKINGTON.

A Cabinet Council was held yesterday, at the
official residence of the First Lord of the Treasury in Down-
ing-street. The Ministers present were Viscount Palmer-
ston, tho Lord Chancellor, Sir G. Cornewall Lewis, Lord
J. Russell, the Duke of Newcastle, the Right Hon. Sidney

Herbert, the Chancellor of the Exhequer, the Duke of
Somerset, the Right Hon. T. Milner Gibson, Sir G. Grey,
Earl of Elgin, and the Right Hon. C. P. Villiers.
The Queen will hold a Privy Council to-morrow
(Saturday) at Windsor Castle.

Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent will
leave her present residence at the Isle of Wight on Friday,
the 28th inst., for Frogmore Lodge.
Their Excellencies the Count and Countess de
Torre Diaz and Madlle. de Zuluota have left London for
Madrid.

The Duke and Duchess de Medina Celi, accom-
panied by Count GUaqui, Grandee of Spain, and suite, have
anived at Claridge's Hotel from Paris.
_

The Dowager Marchioness of Lothian and the
Ladies Kerr have left Claridge's Hotel for Paris.

The Countess Dowager of Caledon has arrived at
Farrance's Hotel, Belgravia, from Castle Caledon, County
Tyrone, Irel and.
Viscount Palmerston arrived in London yesterday
morning from his seat, Broadlands. His lordship left town
for Windsor Castle in the afternoon.

Sir G. Cornewall Lewis arrived in town yesterday
morning from Harpton Court, Kington, Herefordshire.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer returned to
London yesterday morning from Holyhead.
PRESENT TO TIER MAJESTY.—There is now On
the way to this country from the Maharajah of Cashmere,
as a present to her Majesty, a most costly shawl tent, which
will contain, moreover, a bedstead of solid gold. The value
of this regal offering is said to exceed fifteen lacs of rupees
(L 150,000).
THE ATLANTIC CABLE.—Messrs. Beardmore and
Robinson, electricians, have visited Valentia this week, and
set on foot a series of experiments on the Atlantic cable.
Encouragement as to the success of the undertaking, both
as regards the resuscitation of the old and the laying of .a
new cable, is, in the ascendant. These gentlemen found
room, in the state of the cable, to disseminate new courage
among its fricnds.—Tralcc Chronicle. 1
THE LORDS' PROTEST AGAINST THE REJECTION
OF TILE BALLOT.—A bill for enabling the Scotch peers to
elect the 16 representative peers for Scotland by ballot was
moved in the House of Lords in 1734, and was rejected.
Many peers protested, " because (to quote the words of their
protest) the method of voting by ballot appears to us infi-
nitely more preferable on many accounts; fur as it is well
known there are several alliances among that body of nobi-
lity, many of the peers may be put under great difficulties,
their alliances drawing them one w ty and their opinions
and inclinations another way. It is also possible that
by pensions from the Crown, or by civil or military
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they may be biassed in the freedom of their choice."

DESTRUCTIVE FIRE AT CA3IBERWELL.—Yester-
day morning,-between one and two, the premises belon.ity,
to Mr. Carter, hairdresser, Camberwell, were discovered to
be on fire. Mr. and Mrs. Carter, with their two children,
were in their beds asleep. A policeman succeeded in arma-
ing the inmates, but owing to the fierceness of the flames,
they wero unable to get to the front door, and as a last re-
source they made to the back of the building, and succeeded
in reaching the street in safety, Engines were called into
operation, but the whole of the stock in trade was destroyed,
and the building nearly consumed. The origin of the mis-
fortune is unknown. Mr. Carter was insured—the contents
in the Liverpool and London-office, and the building in the
Sun-office.

LATEST NEWS.

The following telegrams have been received at
Mr. Reuter's office:—

MADRID, OCT, 20.

The Cor•r•espondencia Autogr•afa advises the
Ministers to have recourse to arms, as the Emperor
of Morocco has not given satisfactory declarations
to the Government.

The same correspondence approves the resolution
taken by the Government, in ordering the Spanish
Consul to leave Tangiers.

PARIS, THURSDAY EVENING, 9 P.M.

The Emperor of Russia will remain at Warsaw
,o the 23d. He :will there meet the Emperor of

Austria.

M, de Kisseleff will return immediately to Paris.

BRESLAU, OCT. 20.

It is stated by well-informed persons that the
Emperor of Austria will arrive here at the same
time as the Emperor of Russia, who will be here
on the 23d inst.

The Emperor Alexander arrived at Warsaw on
he 19th inst., unaccompanied by the Hereditary

Prince.

MARSEILLES, OCT. 20.
The Valetta, with the mails from Bombay, arrived
at 2 p.m. this day.
BOMBAY, September 26.--Imports abating; cot-
ton falling; oilseeds steady. Exchange on London
2s ed ; money abundant. The mails left Marseilles
for London at 4 p.m.

The Behar, with the heavy portion of the above
mail, was to leave Malta for Southampton on the
18th instant at 8 a.m.

FRANKFORT-ON-MAINE, OCT. 20.

In the sitting of the Federal Diet of to-day the
representatives of the four kingdoms and of the
Grand Duchies of Hesse and Mecklenburg,
and the Duchy of Nassau, made a proposal for
a revision of the federal military system. The
question of the constitution of the Electorate of
Hesse was not discussed.

ST. PETERSBURG, OcT. 19.

Messrs. Stieglitz and Co., bankers, will retire
from business on Jan. 1, 1860, and are now engaged
in liquidating their affairs.

TRIESTE, OCT. 20.
The Austrian Lloyd's steamer, just arrived, brings
advices from Constantinople to the 15th inst.
Two of the chief conspirators have died at Kulely.
Sir Henry Rawlinson, English Minister to the
Persian Court, has been received by the Sultan, and
afterwards took his departure for Teheran.
Prince Alfred is about to viiit Metelin, the Dar-
danelles, Salonica, and the Greek Archipelago.

A vessel with a number of Circassian emigrants
on board has been wrecked, and 203 persons lost

their lives.

we have still 7,600 kilometres to construct, and nearly
3,000,000,000 fr. to disburse for them. Such is the object
we have to attain during the new epoch of peace which is
now commencing. And when we shall have accomplished
that object France will have a greater length of railway
than any other country in the world, as she will have
16,300 kilometres, whilst the United Kingdom of Great
Britain will only have 15,500. But the same will no
be the case with regard to the population or the superficial
extent of territory. Thus when the great networks shall be
executed France will only have 450 kilometres for every
million of the population, whilst in Scotland the proportion
will be 910 kilometeres, in England 866, and in Belgium
482. There is therefore nothing rash in the projects which
we are now endeavouring to carry out."

The cause of the larger pecuniary returns of rail-
way lines in France as compared with those in
England is thus explained :
" If the English network gives in proportion to its length
a smaller revenue than ours, notwithstanding all the ele-
ments of traffic which ought apparently to give it the supe-
riority, it is because it was constructed without any gene-
rarplan. In order to remain faithful to the principle of
laissez-faire which dominates all her economic organisa •
tion, England authorised the execution of all the lines
demanded, although they were destined to injure one
another, without procuring to the country any benefit pro-
portionate to the capital which they absorbed. This has
occasioned an unintelligent competition, which has greatly
reduced the average traffic of English railways. In France
we have avoided that mistake, and have divided the terri,
tory into large zones, each served by a single enterprise.
This rational proceeding has prevented the construction of
parallel lines, the waste of capital, and ruinous rivalities.
And that is why our railways have more traffic and are
more profitable, and why they will continue to be produc-
tive even when they shall have received the embranchments
and extensions now in contemplation."

BOURSE, Oct. 20.—The market has been very
dull, and prices looking down. Threes, after having
been done at 691. 80c., receded to 69f. 60c.; Mobi-
lier varied from 792 f. 50c. to 7851.; Lyons, 915 f.
to el2f. 50c. ; Orleans, 1,3701. to 1,367 f. 50c. ;
Southern, 512 f. 50c. to 510 f.; Austrian, 517 f. 50c.
to 546 f. 25c. ; Lombard, 557 f. 50c. to 5561. 25c.
The following were the last quotations:-
41 per Cents. .... 95 Credit Foncier 690
Do. end month Belgian 4i lOO 25
3 per Cents 69 60 Piedmontcsa (5) .. 85 50
Do. end month 69 65 'Roman B3 75
Bank Shares. 2325 Austrian
Credit Mobilier .. 783 75 Spanish Threes
Do. Account 785 Home Debt 43 50