The Sun.
London, England, 1859-04-07 00:00:00

THE BALLOT.

The Society for promoting the adoption of the
vote by Ballot have• issued the following address to
the electors of the United Kingdom :
" Fellow Countrymen,—The Queen's Ministers
have' decided to dissolve 'Parliament to ask your
opinion what reform shall be made in the laws
regulating the representation of the people. It is
therefore our-duty to address you as we did at the
dissolution of Parliament in 1857 on the question
of Free and Protected Voting ; in other words, Vote
by Ballot. ;The present dissolution takes place
under circumstances more favourable to the ballot
than did the last. It is not our foreign policy,'
but reform of Parlament, on which the country is
appealed to. Allow us to remind you that all real
reform depends on one thing ; you may have a
shadow and form of representation, you may have
electors and canvassing, and nominations and polls,
and members of Parliament, and yet with all these
you may have only the form of representation, be-
cause its life and spirit and reality, the free and
uncontrolled choice of the members by the electors,
may be wanting. We had all these forms before
the first Reform Bill, yet nobody says we had
representation before then. We have had all these
forms since the Reform Bill, yet Sir James Graham,
one of the authors of that bill, confesses that the
demand for the ballot increases throughout the
country, as the demand for no other measure
increases ; and why does it increase except
because the people feel it is the great security
for freedom of election, the real foundation
of all their political power. The present
Government do not offer you the ballot, they offer
you instead a system of voting papers Which one of
their own Cabinet has condemned, because it will
make more easy bribery, intimidation, and the
other evils of the present system. Their Whig
opponents do not now offer you the ballot, but bear
in mind that the ballot was part of the plan of
reform recommended in 1831 to the Ministry of
Earl Grey by a committee of which Lord John
Russell and Sir James Graham are the surviving
members. Fellow-countrymen, be it ours to bring
these Whig statesmen back to recommending the
ballot for the protection of the voter as they did in
1831. Be not deceived. You may have an exten-
sion of the suffrage, and a re-distribution of mem-
bers, but without the ballot you will not attain the
full measure of political power which you justly
claim. In Ireland there has been an extension of
the suffrage not protected by the ballot, and that
extension has not increased but lessened the power
of the people at elections. You may have a re-
distribution of members, but unless those members
are really chosen by the people, what greater
power in Parliament will you have attained ? Let
us follow the example of our fellow-countrymen
in the Australian colonies.' Those colonies, each
possessing a separate and independent parliament,
have successively and independently adopted the
ballot, because they wished to secure and perpetuate
the power of free and independent election. At home,
successive Ministries, Liberal and Conservative, have
permitted these laws of the colonial parliaments
to pass unheeded. Why are our fellow-country.
men .in Australia to have the ballot, while it is
withheld from us ? We are told the ballot is uncon-
stitutional, immoral, un-English, but the ballot can-
not be immoral, un-English, and unconstitutional
at home, and moral, English, and constitutional in
the colonies. Why then do statesmen, liberal or
conservative, withhold it from us ? You are told
by one who well knoWs the state of public opinion,
that the ballot is almost, if not entirely, within
the reach of the constituencies of the United Kino.-
dom.' Electors, read and mark this, and at the
coining election require of those members who vote
for the ballot a more hearty and decided support
than they have hitherto given., Reject every can-
didate who is opliosed to or hesitates on the ballot.
By every means in your power aid us to gain the
ballot at once and for ever.
°. (Signed, by order of the Executive Committee
on behalf of the Society),
" FaIENRY F. BERKELEY, Chairman.
" EDWARD C. WHITHURST, Vice-Chairman.
" Wm. WICKHAM, Hon. Sec.
" Offices of the Society, 5, Guildhall-chambers,
Basinghall-street, London, E.C., April

THE A.USTRALIAikt MAIL.—The light portion of
the first Australian mail under the new contract with the
Peninsular and Oriental Company was delivered in London
yesterday. This mail was brought from Melbourne to Suez
in the Salsetto, one of the coMpany's recently-built screw
steam-ships. Notwithstanding several hours' delay in coal-
ing at King George's. Sound, owing to non completion there
of the arrangements for this purpose, and encountering. a
Revere cyclone eff, the Mauritius, the Salsette made the pas-
sage between the' two ports in 56 days, arriving at Suez on
the 27th ult., only 24 hours behind her appointed time.
The light portion of the mail *as conveyed from Alexandria
in the company's steamship Panther, to Marseilles, and ar •
rived in London on Tuesday night. The heavy portion was
shipped in thelPera, and is fully expected to reach. South-
ampton Saturday, within the. ;period allowed by the
terms of the contract. If early promise may be considered
indicative of future regularity, the public will have cause
for emagratulation at the transference of the Australian
mail serViCe into the hands of the Peninsular and Oriental
Company,
ITALIAN OPERA IN DURLIN.—A troupe of Italian
artistes, under the direction of Mr. Willert Beale, are now
performing withnightla- success at the Theatre Royal, Dub •
En. Amongst the lea ing members of the corpsare—Mme.
Signor Corsi, and Signor Mario. Not
Grisi, Mme. Viardot Garcia, Mdlle. Sedlatzek, Signor Gra-
konliaV ished artists appeared in those corn-
positions which for many seasons past have formed the
of the London Opera houses, but through their
repertoire
'h•Saive these elseldnigsc;innigu'
instrumentality
,Mr. Beale has had the privilege of intro-
ducer.;' Macbeth" to a Dublin audience before it
has been represented either here or in Paris. The Dublin
pap •
ers speak in the most enthusiastic manner both of the
opera and the performance; and as to Madame Viardot
(who played Lady Macbeth), the Daily Express remarks:
Of this lady too much cannot be said. Not even Itistori
could equal: her, while she far excelled her only rival in
beim; trutfirul without exaggeration." • Signor Graziani's
Macbeth is alluded•to in corresponing terms ; and altogether
the production is said to be a most laudable precursor of
what we are shortly to expect in London,

THE EaRGING AND COINING

CONSPIRACY.

William Wagner, ostensibly carrying on business
as a law stationer, No. 10, York-buildings, a re•
turned convict ; Frederick Humphreys, jeweller,
Red Lion-square; William Wynne Bramwell, agent
and furniture dealer, of Meard's-court ; and Andrew
Foster, were put to the bar before Mr. Beadon, at
Marlborough-street Police-court, charged with
having formed part of an extensive gang of forgers
and coiners, whose operations for some considerable
time past have been mainly directed against Lon-
don bankers.

The prisoners were only brought up pro forma,
as the police were not fully prepared with the evi-
dence which they were engaged in collecting. The
case itself is one of the most remarkable that has
ever been brought into a police-court, not only from
the wide combination of individuals, but also on
account of the daring felonies contemplated and, to
a certain extent, carried out.
About 18 months ago several forged cheques
having been passed on different bankers, the police
were put in possession of the particulars, and Ser-
geant Edward Funnell. the well-known City detec-
tive, Detective Joy, A 328, an' active and intelligent
officer, and Sergeant Webb, City Police, were
engaged to trace out the offenders, on the responsi-
bility of Mr. Mullins, the bankers' solicitor. It was
suspected that Wagner, who had been transported
for forgery, and who was well known to be one of
the cleverest and most expert of the gang of forgers
who, before his apprehension, had been victimising
the bankers, had found his way to England, and
the police were requested to ascertain if this sus-
picion was correct. With some trouble they dis-
covered that Wagner had obtained a ticket of leave,
and was in London, and with a partner had esta-
blind, a law stationery office in York-buildings,
Adelphi. The police for months kept their eyes on
the firm, and made themselves acquainted with all
who went in and out for more than a year, satis-
fying themselves that a gang of eight or ten persons
were at work forging and coining, but yet unable
to obtain legal evidence sufficient to warrant an
apprehension, or, at all events, to secure a con-
viction. The police discovered that forged cheques
to a large amount had been passed, that Govern-
ment had been defrauded to an unknown extent by
the forgery of receipt stamps, and that base coins
of gold and silver were in process of manufacture,
the locality of which manufacture they were not
then able to ascertain. The week before last a
cheque for £265 was presented at the Union Bank,
Regent-street, through the prisoner Foster. The
forgery was detected, the prisoner detained, and
Joy, who had been on the watch, took him into -
custody, recognising him as one of the gang which
had been under surveillance for a long period.
Funnell and Webb were immediately communi-
cated with, and they apprehended the other three
prisoners. At the house in Red Lion-square the
officers found a heap of base gold and silver coin,
and ih an inner room a galvanic battery, and all
the recent scientific improvements for counterfeit-
ing coin. To give some idea of the movements of
the gang, at whose head was Wagner, it may be
noticed that their principal difficulty was to find
strangers, or persons whose appearance was not
likely to be suspected, to present the forged
cheques. It was in consequence of one of the
gang employing a baker to present a cheque that
the clue tatheir proceedings was obtained by the
police, The gang are supposed to have • obtained .
£B,OOO, and to have been defeated of thrice that
amount by the promptitude of the police, to whom,
and to all connected in bringing this case to light
and breaking up the gang, the highest praise is
due. It also appears that one of the gang offered
for £3,000 to disclose to Government the parties
who were forging stamps and defrauding the re-
venue, as asserted, to an immense amount.
. _

No evidence was offered yesterday, and the above
is the merest outline of one of the best organised
conspiracies to plunder ever brought to light.

THE CONVICT MARY JONES.

This unfortunate young woman, it will be recol-
lected, was convicted at the, present assizes for the
county of Surrey, of the crime of infanticide, and
was sentenced to be executed by Mr. Baron Martin,
who tried the case. The circumstances were of a
very painful character. The prisoner was only 19
years old, and she had been seduced, and was de-
livered of the child in question at the house of a
person where she was staying temporarily, and
there was no doubt that, whatever was the charac-
ter of the act she committed, it took place during
the agony of a first confinement, aggravated by the
misery and distress of the position in which she was
placed, and there was nothing whatever to show
that she had any deliberate intention to destroy the
life of her unhappy offspring. There was this great
peculiarity also in the trial, that no counsel were
retained either for the prosecution or the defence,
and the only answer to the charge made by the
wretched prisoner when she was called upon for her
defence, was, that she was in such agony and dis-
tress of mind at the time of the occurrence, that she
was not aware of what she did.
Baron Martin summed up very strongly in
favour of a conviction for concealing the birth,
but the jury returned a verdict, declaring
the prisoner guilty of the crime of wilful
murder, and the learned judge, upon this finding,
had no alternative but to pass sentence of death
upon the wretched young woman, who was taken
from tb e bar insensible when the sentence was pro-
nounced.

The learned judge evidently did not anticipate
such a result, but it appears that he immediately
addressed a communication to the Home Secretary, ,-4
in which he expressed his opinion with regard to .. ,
the case, and that it was not one that at all required
the list penalty of the law to be inflicted. In the
course of a day or two an answer to this communi-
~
cation was received, to the effect that the sentence
would not be . carried out; and a respite has since
been sent to Mr. Keene, the governor of Horse- I
monger-lane Gaol, under which the execution of
the sentence is postponed during her Majesty's
pleasure. Ever since her conviction the wretched i
young woman has been in a most miserable condi-
tion both bodily and mental, and she has been
placed in the infirmary of the prison. The state-
ment of the respite was made to her by the Rev. .•,
Mr. Rowe, the chaplain of the gaol, but she was •
in so weak a condition that she appeared hardly to '`
.•
understand the effect of the communication ; but
she became a good deal agitated when she was .
told that the result would be that her life would ;
undoubtedly be spared. It will now rest entirely
with the Home Secretary, after having communi-
cated
with the learned judge who tried 'the pri- 1
soner, what punishment shall be inflicted in corn-
.4
mutation of the original sentence. -1