The Sun.
London, England, 1859-08-04 00:00:00

BERWICK-ON-TWEED ELECTION.

In accordance with the instructions of the Council
of the Northern Reform Union, Mr. R. B. Reed'has
visited Berwick-upon-Tweed, to inquire whether
there was any foundation for certain reports of the
existence of bribery and corruption at the late
election for that borongh. Mr. Reed has reported
the result of his inquiries to the council, and ex•
presses his conviction that at the late election cor-
ruption of all kinds was extensively practised.
As illustrative of the state of feeling in the town,
one respectable tradesman informed him that he
was thoroughly ashamed of the whole business,
and that the borough ought to be disfranchised ;
while another gentleman said it was a matter of
indifference what the political opinion, position,
or personal qualifications •of a candidate might
be ; if he " gave out the money" in a proper
manner, and to a sufficient amount, he might rely
upon being returned for Berwi3k. Mr. Reed thus
concludes his report :—" In addition to the modes
of corruption above described, the Conservative
party, no doubt, strengthened their position at the
last election by promising that if they were suc-
cessful, Lord Derby's Government would repair the
barracks, and again make the town a military
station. To a small town like Berwick this was a
question of great importance, considerably affecting
the profits of tradesmen and publicans. Neither
Capt. Gordon nor Mr. Earle, it is true, made direct
statements that upon their election the desirable
result of military occupation' depended, but other
means were taken that: were equally as effective.
The Berwick Warder, the Conservative organ,
issued a supplement on the 16th of April, which
was profusely distributed, containing the following
announcement We have great pleasure in an-
nouncing that the prolonged struggle in which we
have been engaged, to vindicate the claims of our
town to be retained as a military station, have been
brought to a successful issue. We have derived this
satisfactory information from a private letter, which
we ourselves had the opportunity of reading, ad-
dressed by the highest authority to a gentleman
occupying an official position, who has taken a deep
interest in the question, and whose connection with
Berwick will, we confidently expect, be productive
of much benefit to our town, should it assume that
permanent character which we have every right to
anticipate. We have reason to believe that the
military authorities,. armed by the formidable re-
port of the surveyor, whose approaching visit
was announced by Captain Gordon some weeks
ago, have determined, in concert with the Trea-
sury, to make arrangements for the repair of
the barracks. We may, therefore, expect, before
many months have elapsed, to find our barracks re-
open ed by her Majesty's troops.' Mr. Earle, the
gentleman occupying an official position, to whom
this paragraph clearly refers, in an address dated
April 11 (two days after), made a modest referencd
to:his services by saying I have always ven-
tured to assert that your local interests would not
suffer by being committed to my charge; but I
should be very unwilling to found a claim to your
suffrages upon any recent success which may have
attended my efforts to serve you, however impor-
tant their object.' The meaning intended to be
conveyed by these statements is very manifest, and
justifies the accusation of Government influence
having been used to secure the election of Messrs.
Gordon and Earle. As a further illustration of the
connection of these gentlemen with the government,
it may be stated that, within a few days after their
return, government appointments were given to
several of their active supporters. I found a very
general desire expressed in the borough that a com-
mission of inquiry should be appointed to investi-
gate the whole of the circumstances connected with
the late election. The necessity for such an inquiry
has been rendered more urgent from the evident
attempt, on the part of both Whigs and Tories, to
hush up' their corrupt proceedings by withdraw-
ing the petition against the sitting members, and
quietly dividing the representation. Such a com-
mission would, no doubt, produce a much more ela-
borate and complete report than it is possible for
any private individual, and a stranger to the town,
like myself, could collect. I believe, however, even
in this imperfect report, there will be found suffi-
cient evidence to justify a petition to parliament
praying for such an inquiry."

DONATIONS OF WINE TO HOSPITALS.—The Duke
of Northumberland has presented 1,000 bottles of sherry to
the Middlesex Hospital, in addition to the same quantity to
the Westminster Hospital, as mentioned a few days ago,
and the like quantity to the Newcastle Infirmary, expressly
for the use of the poor patients. This wine is of a very
superior quality, and has been twenty years in the cellars
of Northumberland House.
GREAT NORTHERN HOSPITAL, KING'S CROSS.—
Number of patients for the week ending August 3, 1,077 ;
of which 479 were new cases.
A letter from Florence states that the energetic
and well-directed efforts of Mr. Stockton, the American
Minister at Rome, have obtained for Mr. E. W. Perkins
from that Government the sum of 3,425 Roman scudi, as
compensation for losses at Perugia,

The ATTORNEY-GENERAL hoped the committee
would not assent to the clause, which'was vague and uncer-
tain. At present an executor could compound a debt, and if
he did that for his testator, which a prudent man would do
on his own account, he would be, indemnified by the Court
under the 34th clause of this bill.

The clause was negatived, and the preamble having been
agreed to, the bill was ordered to be reported, with amend-
ments, and the house resumed.

SUPPLY,

On the motion of Mr. BRAND, the house then resolved
itself into a Committee of Supply—Mr. Massey in the chair
—when the adjourned debate on the vote of £40,000 for the
improvement of the Kaffir tribes was resumed.
Mr, CONINGHAM said that as this vote was, he under-
stood, to be reduced next year, he would withdraw his op-
position to it on this occasion.
The vote was then agreed to, as was the vote of £69,215
to defray the expenses of the Treasury chest.
On the vote of £30,000 for the Submarine Telegraph
Companies being proposed,
Mr. AYRTON asked the position of the Government if
the company did not proceed with the Red Sea line P
Mr. LAING replied that the position was the same as
the Government guarantees to the other lines.
The vote was then agreed to, as was a'so £12,000 for the
Niger Expedition, £7,949 for the Zambesi Expedition,
£4,700 for the insp:ctors of corn returns, £1,946 for the
registrar of joint- stock companies, and £11,850 for revis-
ing barristers. _ _

-On the vote of £3,332 to defray the expenses of the po-
lice at Aldershott being put,
Mr. W. WILLIAMS objected to this item. It was
monstrous that such a sum should be required to keep a
body of soldiers in order.

Mr. LAING urged that the police were necessary to
keep, not the soldiers, but camp followers in order.
The vote was then agreed to, as was a sum of £3,000 for
the inspector of burial grounds. •
On the vote of £2 000 for the National Portrait Gallery,
Mr. SPOONER denounced the vote and expressed his
determination to take the sense of the committee against it.

Mr. AYRTON was of opinion that the proposed vote
was a lavish and useless expenditure of the public money.
Lord PALMERSTON reminded the committee that this
was a question which had already been fullidiscussed, and
that this was not a vote for the advancement of art, but for
the formation of a gallery of portraits, which served to illus-
trate the history of the country. He could not but think
that this was a highly interesting subject to the country,
and that it was maintained at a comparatively trifling ex-
pense.
Mr. CONTNGHAM objected to the vote, and contended
that the collection might be brought under the machinery
of the National Gallery.
Mr. STIRLING supported the vote, which was opposed
by Mr. DANBY SEYMOUR.
After a conversation, participated in by Sir J.V. Shelley,
Mr. Augustus Smith, Mr. Blackburn, the Chancellor of
the Exchequer, Mr. Ridley, Mr. Briscoe, and Mr. W.
Williams, the committee divided, when there appeared—
For the vote .
Against it 35

Majority
The vote was then agreed to.
A vote for a sum of £2,050 for the boundary survey of Ire-
land was agreed to, as also were the following :—£2,140 for
the collection of agricultural and emigration statistics in
Ireland ' • £23000, for the new courts and offices at the Four
Courts, llubhn ; £1,300 for Pitcaiin's Island, and £11,440
for the General Register Office, Edinburgh.
On the vote of £2,000 for the purchase of Sir ;George
Hayter's picture of the opening of the First Reformed Par-
liament,
Mr. SPOONER objected, and asked if it had been pur-
chased, and by whom.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said if it
had been paid for, it had been so by the late Chancellor of
the Exchequer ; the present Government had nothing to do
with it.

Mr. SPOONER objected to the vote.
Col. FRENCH said the picture had boon purchired on
a vote of the late House of Commons, and he therefore did
not blame any Government. He should support the vote.
A desultory conversation ensued, which terminated in a
division, when the numbers appeared—
-82
For the vote
Against it
The CHAIRMAN, amidst laughter, gave his casting vote,
and declared the Ayes to have it.
The next vote was for a sum of £l,o69forthe purchase of
old gun metal to be employed in the construction of monu
mental statues to the late Brigadier-General Niel, in the
county of Ayr; of General Havelock, at Sunderland; and
the Royal Engineers' Monument at_Chatham, was agreed
to amidst loud cheers.
Upon a vote of £9,988 for the cost of constructing in
fire-proof rooms adjoining the Sheepshank Gallery
ant
South Kensington, to receive thteioVnalernGoalln,oryT
andoafnda
other pictures belonging' to the Na
separate entrance-thereto.
Mr. CONINGHAM asked what were the real intentions
of the Government with regard to the National Gallery ?
The removal of s portion of the pictures from Trafalgar-
square gave rise to suspicions of their ultimate intentions.
He wished also to know whether there was any change in
the decision to grant a site for the Royal Academy at Bur-
lington-house ?
Lord PALMERSTON said the exact arrangements for
providing a site for the Royal Academy bad not yet been
settled, but he apprehended that the arrangement suggested
by the last Commission f Mointaining the National Gal-
lery in Trafalgar-squire would be adopted, the House of
Commons consenting to vote the expenses necessarily at-
tendant upon such an enlargement of the gallery as would
be required. There was no intention, under cover of this
vote, to transfer permanently to Kensington-gore any por-
tion of the pictures which were now in the National Gal..
lery. (Cheers.)
Lord ELCHO suggested that before any
headtit
into
too hmie
otosfßd
general
reyitnaa lie
nwr
aAh
thisc
cao
constitution.
the
out
unatnt
iroAcademy
n: inquiryanld twasfshouldhuefulfilled
lt slhue
dopupbi
gtoesshsi
etstfunctions, instituted
iwttoasimbgranted
t aantnhtnodet
that it should be freely open to all artists, whether oil
painters, water:colour painters, sculptors, or engravers.
A(Hoedare, hear.) He wished inquiry to be made whether the
a school
on ouorfs
were
foro
freely the instruction utcoti oaun of
artistsartiste,
ia
and a
whether
myaswits honours
Great Britain? (Hear, hear.)
.Mr. AYRTON objected to this enormous expenditure for
a
temporary purpose. (Hear.) It was proposed to remove
the Royal Academy to Burlington-arcade. Surely a year
would be long enough to erect that building, and whencom-
pleted the space now occupied by the Royal Academy
.in
the National Gallery would be available for these pic-
tures- Supposing that were not so, why should not the tem-
porary budding be erectedon the vacant ground at Burling-
ton.house ? In the name of the workhig classes, and in the
name of all who resorted to the metropolis for plsasure or

The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said it was
the misfortune of discussions of questions of art in that house
that it allowed all the subjects connected with it to run into
one another. On this vote the house had discussed the
constitution of the Royal Academy, its condition and rela-
tions to the public, and the site of the National Gallery. On
the lathy point nothing could be more clear than the state-
ment of his noble friend (Lord Palmerston), that it was the
generally expressed wish of the House of Commons that the
gallery should be kept in Trafalgar-square. With regard to
the Royal Academy, it would be very inconvenient at that
moment to discuss its relations with the Government ; but
there was no disposition whatever on the part of the Govern •
ment to defeat the intentions of the hpuse. It would be ac-
commodated on some part of the site of Burlington-house,
but the disposal of that site was a great question, and
it would be quite inexcusable of the Government if it parted
with the whole of it piece by piece. With respect to the
question immediately before the house, what had been done
was to meet a ease of urgency, and took place before the
estimates could be brought forward. It would, perhaps,
have been more convenient had the amount of this vote
been paid out of the civil contingencies, which were intended
to provide for such urgent cases. It appeared that some
progress had been made in creating these buildings ; it had
been asked why the Government did not make use of the
rooms belonging to the Royal Academy. The answer to the
question was, that the Royal Academy existed for two pur-
poses, one primary, the other secondary; the exhibition of
pictures was only the secondary purpose of the Academy, its
principal object was teaching. Now, such were the condi-
tions of the space occupied by the Royal Academy, that
during the period of its exhibition of pictures it was obliged
to suspend the teaching of its schools ; and if the Govern-
ment took the rooms of the Academy it "would totally pats-
' brae the means of teaching. Another suggestion was, that
these temporary buildings should be raised on the vacant
space at the back of Burlington-house; but in the course of
a year or two, when the space would be required for the
permanent edifice, these temporary erections must be again
removed and placed somewhere else; the inconvenience of
the case would be thus aggravated. There was a great deal
in the suggestion that Government might have hired build-
ings for the purpose, but much could also be said against it.
If the buildings at Kensington were inconveniently situated
with respect to the Tower Hamlets, they would be inconve-
nient with regard to some part of the metropolis wherever
they might be placed. But at Kensington they were acces-
sible to a large part of the population of London, not belong-
ing exclusively to the upper classes, which derived from the
collection there abundant enjoyment of a kind it never be-
fore possessed. The buildings for which the vote was asked
were temporary, as far as the pictures were concerned,
but he understood they would be available for other pur-
poses after the paintings were removed. The establish-
ment at Kensington was a young and growing one—
(" Hear, hear," and laughter)—and extremely popular. It
was intended to be a repository of illustrations of art, and
it could net remain stationary, or it would become a mu-
seum. With regard to the intrigues or mysterious in-
fluences an hon. member had referred to, they were quite
imaginary ; they were phantoms the hon. gentleman had
perceived, and nothing more :

. " He sees -a
form we cannot see,"
and appears to be aware of much that we know nothing
about. As far as we know, the purpose of the vote is very
simple, and is confined within very narrow limits.
Sir J. SHELLEY would not object to the vote if the
buildings were applied to public purposes when the pictures
were removed.
Sir H. WILLOUGHBY thought there had been a sys-
tematic attempt to set aside the authority of the house.
Mr. MALINS would support the vote if assured that
the buildings would ultimately be required for a permanent
and public purpose. •
The committee divided, when the numbers were—
For the vote ll6
Against it
Majority —43
The next vote put from the chair was for a sum of £5,000
to Mr. W. H. Barber, in consideration of the sufferings he
had undergone, and of his distressed circumstances.
Mr. B. COCHRANE remarked that the sum proposed
man who had
totally inadequate to the sufferings he had undergone.
tirMelyr.ne
wprinciple—that
CLIFFORD thought
of
compensating
p evno
stae
ing a introduced an en-
tirely
been Lied and convicted of an offence ; and the. principle, if
good, ought to be applied to men who were tried and ac-
quitted.
• The committee then divided, when the numbers were—
For the vote
Against it •
Majority —loo
The house then resumed, when the Hull Election Com-
mittee were called to the bar to be sworn. The members
nominated having all appeared at the bar with the excep-
tion of Col. F. Greville,
Sir F. BARING moved that the hon. and gallant mem-
ber, not having appeared within an hour after four o'clock
on the day appointed for swearing the said committee, he
be taken into the custody of the Sergeant-at-Arms.
The motion was agreed to.
BURY ELECTION.
Mr. BLACKBURN reported from the Bury Election
Committee that they had resolved that the Right Hen. F.
Peel had been duly elected to serve for the said borough in
the present Parliament. -
The Chief Superintendent (China) Bill was read a se-
cond time.

BRITISH AMERICA.
The North-Western Territories Bill and the Speaker of
he Legislative Council (Canada) Bill were read a second

INDIAN LOAN.
The report of the resolutions on the East Indian Loan
was received.

CIVIL SUPERANNUATION'S.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER brought
in a bill to amend the Superannuation Act of the present
year. _

•
Several orders were postponed and the house adjourned
at six o'clock.

According to a telegraphic despatch from Ham-
burg, dated Aug. 1, the Grand Duke Const =tine has dis-
embarked at Copenhagen. After receiving 'the congratula-
tions of the Grand Marshal of the Palace , his royal high-
ness proceeded to the Russian embassy.
THE AUCTIONEER AT RYDAL ' , MOUNT.—The
sound of "going—going-gone" has within the last week
or two been heard at Rydal Mount a, along Wordsworth's
books and pictures. In a dusty room 'in the Strand or Pic-
cadilly the tap of the hammer, to wli. eh we
have been sum-
moned by a fluttering catalogue, is a sound harmonious
enough; but in a place which has b eRn advertised as " the
haunt of pious memories," it seeva a 1..0 be exactly one of
those melodies which " unheard w,m'id have been sweeter
still." * * * Rydal Mount, em.)eforward an historical
spo, it 1 1813. By that time
mn t
svralsuweor,whh'so horn 3
m,9
tea
the Lyrical Ballads
1 at "nothing," had becomo awP •ze of his mistake, and, as a
Lboencgmame an Wcd rt
compensation for Byron's sati• re,, an appQintment of £4OO
a-year entitled the poet to' r es•pect in the county-. The
simple Westmoreland folk as li tt le under stood the pedestrian
who " booed his poetry," aro rey said, by the lakes and
among the hills, as the Allfox( en peoples who regarded him
as a smuggler.." Wadswortl fs broke/ a loose agen," was
the country?, colloquial )pinion of the value of his poetry.
Why a stamp distributor shot lid inedil ;tate on primroses and
talk to himself for hours by 7 gasedoe Tarn and along the
Brathay, was to the com ' • not easy
men- -sens teal. r agriculturist,
to understand. Strangers ar ana tives now have inklings,
though perhaps a generation .or titro ' n° us -
t pass before the
vicinage quite Ituderstands." —GIN'
ve a Week.