The Sun.
London, England, 1859-11-19 00:00:00

and if you wish to get quite out of the way of
everything like town life, you cannot do better
than get lodgings there for the summer, if, indeed,

trembling in the balance of a momentous division
in the House of Commons—a division then fast
approaching. The document ill question, of course,
was understood to contain within it nothing_ less
important than a series of categorical sipulations as
to a Reform Bill promised thus in witing by the
noble Earl as Chief of the DERBY Go'ernment. It
may also be borne in recollection thatmore recently
Lord I)EnEY—as recently, by the vay, this was
as the 29th of this last October—nanely, upon the
occasion of the grand Tory demonstration at Liver-
pool—availed himself of the opportulity of a public
speech to state distinctly and emphatically, that no
such papar had been countersigned by him for the
satisfaction of the qualms of conscience of Mr.
MILLER, M.P. for Leith. And Lori DERBY added
to this explicit and absolute counter-statement of
his own, as to this apocryphal, :or rather purely
supposititious, document, that in answer to an
inquiry addressed by his lordship :cs Mr. MILLER,
he (Lord DERBY) had received a communication
from Mr. MILLER, stating, in so imny words, that
that gentleman had been " wholly misrepresented!,
Hereupon, on the 12th inst., certain of the
electors of the borough of Leitl address to the
ex-Premier, we cannot but think rather unneces-
sarily under the circumstances (br Lord DERBY'S
explanation was, to all intents and purposes, suffi-
ciently positive and sufficiently comprehensible)—
a long letter putting the case all over again, re-
counting every circumstance of it ab initio, and
then demanding from Lord DERBY a plain Yes or
No, after the approved fashion of Sir CULLING
EARDLEY, Bart. Having recapitulated these parti-
culars the letter goes on to say—"lt is the general opi
nien here that the gentleman your lordship referred
to is Mr. WILLIAM MILLER, M.P. for this district of
burghs ; and, supposing such to be the case, we beg
to state that we were present at Mr. MILLER'S meet-
ing held hero on the evening of the 14th of Octo-
ber last, and that we heard him distinctly say in
his speech that the document in question had been
signed by your lordship." And as if this were not
sufficiently plain-speaking as to the incident, the elec-
tors add, in their letter to Lord DERBY, that " On
Mr. MILLER making this assertion one of the elec-
tors interrupted him, asking how it happened that
your lordship had signed a letter which was ad-
dressed to yourself, and Mr. MILLER then explained
that it had been signed by you in acceptance of the
terms contained therein." Having said which the
electors of Leith content themselves with observing
to the ox-Premier, in conclusion, "We consider it
our duty, without comment, to make your lordship
acquainted with the real state of the case, and we
have thought it right. to send Mr. MILLER a copy
of this letter." The noble lard's reply is sufficiently
curt and characteristic to be given here in its
entirety

you could find them.
The place is, however, largo enough to maintain
several shopkeepers, and the shopkeeper 9 are, of
course, electors, and for the most part very dutiful
electors, seldom forgetting that Cowdray Hall has

a right to do what it will with its own. In all
fsanilies,however,even the best regulated, there will
sometimes be turbulence; sons and daughters, al-
most out of their teens, will fancy they are as wise
as the paternal authorities, and set up for inde-
pendence of patriarchal control ; and at the last
election even Midhurst tradesmen, some of them at
least, turned unexpectedly wayward. Who was
the proprietor of Cowdray ? Were they to be handed
about, like the congregation of a parish church, to the
nominee now of this patron, now of that? Were they
adscripti glebae, or rather adscripti Cowdrayensi
If a Tory they must have, yet could they not have
a Tory of their own selection ; one who should push
aside the nominee of Lord and Lady EGMONT ?
The fit came on strong, came on at the very eve of
the election ; there was no time to bring heavy
artillery to bear upon the refractory, and
Mr. MITFORD, the present member, was installed
by a kind of coup d'etat, in the midst of the con-
sternation and paralysis which had befallen Cow-
dray. When all was over the electors were sur-
prised at themselves ; they could hardly believe in
their own act. The whole eleven parishes won-
dered at their own pranks while their chain had
for a moment snapped ; they are quite sure, how-
ever, that it will soon be mended.
We learn, indeed, from the West Sussex Gazette
that the process of repairing it is commenced
already. Cowdray is asserting its rights. Appro-
priate penalties are in store for the rebellious or the
rampant. Lord and Lady EGMONT may be flouted
by a mob of vassals for the hour, but retribution
speedy and protracted will teach the delinquents
the peril of yielding to impulses of liberty.
" My Lady" is, we are told, the executioner;
Justice is a lady, not blind in Lady EGMONT'S
case, but with eyes wide open to distinguish all the
faithful to the Lord of Cowdray from the audacious
voters for MITFORD. Deep down in the country
as are the electors of Midhurst, they have far ad-
vanced on their painted ancestors, and they do need
clothing. Like all dwellers in agricultural dis-
tricts they need much more than they can get of
it. Very prudently they form therefore clothing
clubs, to which they pay ld. a week. The sum is
easily spared weekly; and the gown, or petticoat, or
stockings it will purchase at Christmas come almost
like a present then. But to encourage, as was
supposed, this prudence, Lady EGMONT used
philanthopically to add her half-crown to the 4s. 4d.
of each contributor, and with 6s. 10d. to go mar-
keting with to the draper, the rustic dames and
damsels might almost metamorphose themselves in
the eyes of their lords and their sweethearts—there
might be a new bonnet as well as a new gown, as
things now go ; and perhaps a little for warmth
besides. The bonnet, now at least, ought not to cost
much. So a ticket, by the help of Lady EGMONT'S
liberality, was given to each depositor of the penny
a week, which ticket was good to any tradesman
who presented it to Miss WISDOM for the full six
and tenpence.
So at least it was understood. No limitation of
tradesmen was in the bond ; but limitation it seems
there was in the mind of my lady of Cowdray. The
tradesmen dealt with must be those who had been
faithful to their lord. If any shopkeeper had voted
for MITFORD he must not gain any profit from the
half-crown of Lady EGMONT and the accompanying
four and fourpence being spent at his shop. Our
tradesman, from whom the West Sussex Gazette
had this inforaiation, was told by some of his old
club customers that if they dealt with tradesmen
who had voted for MITFORD, as he had done, they
could not have the ticket. Not a little surprised, he
sent an assistant to ask an explanation of Miss
WISDOM, the secretary of the club ; he was told
" That the report was true, that the interdict was
put on his shop by order of Lady EGMONT, on ac•
count of the election ;" and, it was added (by Miss
WISDOM, we presume), " that he ought to have
thought of the consequences of supporting Mr.
MITFORD against the interest of Lord and Lady
EGMONT; and it was understood that Mr. MITFORD'S
supporters were not to expect any support from
Cowdray." The result was that instead of supplying
about half the number of the club for six and ten-
pence each, he only supplied those who refused to
submit to Cowdray restrictions, and who demanded
the return of their simple four and fourpence.
Sometimes we are told that exclusive dealing is
, all a fancy ; that tradesmen cry out before they are
hurt; that if a customer resorts to another shop
because the goods are cheaper or better, directly
there are exclamations about loss of custom for the
sake of a vote and so forth. SYDNEY S3IITII could
easily enough draw ludicrous pictures of this kind.
We have little doubt that the intimidation of this
sort is in substance very extensive. But it is
rarely, indeed, we can catch a Lady EGMONT in
the very fact. There is seldom need of the
intimidator of the shopkeeper committing himself
or herself. Clothing clubs, and " half-crowns addi-
tional," are but rarely in the hands of one lady, or
indeed of one set of politicians. It is the fact, we
believe, that in smaller towns, and in the country,
the shopkeepers are amongst the most timid of the
electors. Most frequently they have customers on
both sides. The minority Liberals, probably ; yet
too important to them to be lost. The majority,
including several of the neighbouring gentry, they
dare not offend, so they remain neutral. Yet
these men hare an opinion—only, for their business'
sake they dare not utter it. We have known them
give one vote for ea2h side, or one partner vote one
way, and one the other ; or, as we have said, remain
neutral. Nothing but the Ballot can pretend to
offer protection for this kind of corruption.
We may see here, too, how those who hate
bribery may be drawn into what may become
eventually corrupt practices. Who would
have blamed Mr. MITFORD if ho had said
—I will add three and sixpence, instead of Lady
EGMONT'S half-crown, to the four an? fourpence
of those who deal with the punished trades-
men ? Or who would have not been ready to sub-
, scribe to augment the four and fourpences of thoso
who dealt with the tradesmen excluded from the
custom of Lady EGMONT'S club ? Then the two
clubs might have gone on bidding against each
other, till the highest bidder became the buyer of
the election, and the final result might have been
a House of Commons fishing out the curious fact
that the electors of Midhurst weremanaged through
clothing clubs, and that Lady EGMONT and her
Mis3ll'l:.Dom had originated the clever contrivance.

GLASGOIV.

"Knowsley, Nov. 15.

" Gentlemen,—l have had the honour of receiving this
morning your letter of the 12th inst. Having received some
time ago a statement in writing from Mr. Miller, which, as
far as I am concerned, was perfectly satisfactory to me, I
must beg to decline any further interference with a matter with
which I have no concern, and in which there appears to be
some misunderstanding between that gentleman and his
constituents.—l am, gentlemen, your obedient servant,
"Mr. D. M'Lareu and others. "DERBY."
The sequel to all which now devolyes, of
course, upon Mr. WILLIAM MlLLER—supposing
that gentleman, that i 3 to Ray, to care one straw for
the good opinion of his own constituency.

Poor Mr. WILLIAM MILLER., we arc very sorry,
indeed, to see it, is not yet " out of the wood " in
his relations with his constituency. It may be
remembered that the hon. geutleman was reported
some time back to have made certain specific and
explicit statements in respect to some mys-
terious paper said to have been drawn up, if we
recollect rightly, by himself, and to have been
afterwards countersigned by the Earl of DanuT,
when the fortunes of that noble lord's Cabinet were

TkIE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 19, ISA.

ASTLEY'S THEATRE.

Real watcrmen, if not real water, ruled the waves at
Astley's last night, and in such aquatic force as almost to
elbow the great Italian warrior, Garibaldi; from the stage,
and certainly the horses from the arena. But this unprece-
dented muster of jolly young watermen and their boating
patrons, concerned something nearer to them than the
question of Italian independence or the success of Mr. Tom
Taylor's hippodrama.tic piece. It was to give a helping
hand to a brother waterman, Henry Kelly, the ex-cham-
pion of the Thames, whose laurels were so unexpectedly
won from him by Robert Chambers, of Newcastle, in the
recent contest for the championship. A very general sym-
pathy was felt for Kelly's defeat, and, under the active
superintendence of Mr. Thomas Moreton and other friends,
it was arranged that the gallant man should take a benefit
at one of the metropolitan theatres, to reimburse him to
some extent for his loss, and show the high appreciation in
which ho was held by the aquatic world. Astley's was the
theatre chosen for the purpoSe, and last night the house was
crowded to overflowing. With admirable judgment the
musical farce of " The Waterman" was chosen as the piece
de resistance; the new drama of " Garibaldi," a miscella-
neous concert by some of the choicest of the Canterbury
Hall singers (with the permission of Mr. C. Moreton), and
the indigenous " scenes in the circle," making up the rest
of the evening's entertainment. Mr. Augustus Braham was
the Tom Tug and Miss Rebedca Isaacs the Wilhelminainthe
"Waterman;" and the encores of the favourite nautical songs
of the former, and the interpolated ballads of the latter, were
fast and furious. The most striking incident in the operetta
was the appearance on the stage, in the last scene, of "all
the celebrated watermen of- the past and present day, each
man wearing his coat and 'badge." These are very pic-
turesque garments, more especially in tho contrasts they
present of scarlet and green ; and this part of the entertain-
ment was particularly relished by the amphibious audience
who had assembled to do honour to the fallen chief. The
great excitement of the evening was produced at the finale
of the farce, when Kelly and Chambers, stepping from out
the ranks of their "coated and bulged" friends, came to the
footlights, and, at the timely instigation of Mr. Braham,
thanked the audience for their presence, and at the same
time exchanged a friendly word over their late contest. All
the "jolly young watermen" on the stage (and they in-
cluded the chief prizemen from London Bridge to Putney),
comported themselves admirably, and none but an enemy
would say that they looked like fish out of water. Mr.
Moreton, of Canterbury Hall, deserves much praise and
many thanks for the admirable and business-like way he
carried out the whole of the proceedfngs.

DEATH OF MR, ROBERT GUNN, OF

We regret to observe from our obituary the death of this
highly-respected gentleman, which took place at Lisbon on
the 14th inst., whither he had repaired to recruit his health.
Mr. Gunn had been connected with the newsaper press of
this country for 30 years ; and by unremitting. energy and
perseverance, in conjunction with his partner (Mr. Came-
ron) succeeded in establishing two lucrative newspaper
properties, viz., the General Advertiser, Dublin, and the
North. British Daily Hail, Glasgow. Mr. Gunn became
the acting proprietor of the Mail in 1818 ; but it may be
mentioned that previous to his connection with the Mail
it had undergone so many vicissitudes that it had well-nigh
become engulphed in the general wreck of that stormy
period in commercial affairs. His large experience and
forethought, combined • with considerable capital, enabled
him to weather the storm; and from that time up till within
a short period of his decease he had been unceasing in his
endeavours to make his journal the thorough representative
of the interests of Scotland at large, whether social, political,
or commercial ; and taking Glasgow for its centre, it may
fairly be said that to his assiduity the commercial metropolis
of Scotland in particular owed the existence of a daily organ
at a time when such a privilege was not enjoyed in any city
in Great Britain, London only excepted ; but in the attain-
ment of this object Mr. Gunn had to surmount obstacles
that would have overwhelmed any ordinary man, and
thereby, we fear, helped to produce that illness which has
terminated in depriving the city of Glasgow of one of her
most intelligent and enterprising citizens. In business he
was a man of unimpeachable integrity, straightforward in
all his dealings, and gentlemanly in his deportment to all.
It is only a short month since he left his home to seek a
warmer climate in order to restore his shattered frame, but
death has stepped in and cut him down in the prime of life
and in the midst of his usefulness.