The Sun.
London, England, 1835-06-30 00:00:00

that folly and clamour go together ;'t so also thought
the House, as was evident from the loud cheers which
followed the utterance of this profound observation.
It does not appear from the Report how the ques-

tion respecting the qualification by birth, which was to
be taken into consideration by the Government, has
been settled. We are happy, however, to find our view of
_ _ _ _

the case entertained by Lord BROUGHAM. The Noble
and Learned Lord, in stating to the House of Lords last
night that he had been entrusted with petitions in re-
ference to certain parts of the Corporation Bill, said
that he wished to see the right of freedom preserved to
apprentices, but that he thought the qualification by
birth the worst of all qualifications.

The brief discussion that took place last night in
the House of Commons on the Ipswich affair, is the
most satisfactory that we have yet read on the subject.
Hon. Members seem now inclined to sift the matter
to the bottom ; and Mr. GISBORNE, taking advan-
tage of this disposition, very properly announced his
intention of moving this evening, that " the Attorney-
General be directed to prosecute all the parties im-
plicated in the bribery practised at the Ipswich elec-

tion." We trust this motion will be carried by a tri-
umphant majority, and that we shall hear no more cant
about the propriety of treating such delinquents as
DASENT, PILGRIM, and the rest, with lenity, sim-
ply because they may happen to be respectable. Their
respectability, so far from telling in their favour, only
aggravates their offence ; for it proves how inordinate
must have been their innate love of corruption, when it
could induce them to peril such high social advantages.
Who would be mad enough to jeopardize his stand-
ing in society, for a cause that he had not most deeply
at heart ? Men do not hazard great stakes on mat-

ters of little or no interest to them. Mr. GISBORNE'S
proposed motion is full as important as any that has
been made this session. A great moral principle is in-
volved in it. Its result will decide, first, whether pu-
rity of election is, or is not, to be henceforth consi-
dered as a farce by a Reformed House of Commons ;
secondly, whether acts of bribery and corruption may,
or may not, be perpetrated with impunity by all who
can adduce certificates of respectability. Surely there
can be no two opinions on these points. Should
there be, and the adverse one proves triumphant, then
farewell to the country's faith in the sagacity and up-
rightness of a British Parliament ; for what will
such a triumph be, but that of absurdity over
common sense, of injustice over justice ? We have
no notion of a man's respectability being held as au
available plea in such a flagrant case as that of bribery.
The more respectable he is, the better he should know
how to conduct himself. For the poor elector, who
can plead poverty and ignorance in excuse for his ac-
cepting a bribe, we can feel some pity ; but none for
the agent whose respectability is (or should be) a
voucher for his intelligence, and whose pecuniary means
must necessarily set him above temptation. Let the
House then boldly do its duty, and by so doing, establish
the broad salutary principle, that whether rich or poor,
respectable or otherwise, those who tamper with the
purity of election—the very key-stone of the arch of
the Constitution—shall be held equally amenable to
the law. We are glad to find that the two Norwich
Magistrates are ordered to attend at the Bar on Friday
next, notwithstanding Lord STbrtMONT'S strongly-
urged plea in their favour, that both are " respectable
gentlemen, of large property." His Lordship, we
suppose, will be horror-struck when he comes to see
so much wealth and respectability standing in such a
place ! It will shock his sense of " the fitness of
things," and induce him to " hate the very mention of
Reform" with a deadlier hatred than ever.