The Sun.
London, England, 1857-04-17 00:00:00

VOTE BY BALLOT IN AUSTRALIA.

The combination of present secrecy in the act of
voting w ith facili ties for disclosure should it be at any
time desirable, is the object of the plan which has
been devised by the Legislature of Victoria. The
new electoral law for that colony which has been
forwarded to England for the Royal assent has been
presented to ihadlouse f Commons in compliance
with an address requiring it ; and the provisions
relating to the ballot form a curious commentary
on the abuses to which that system in its purity is
felt to be liable. The following are the principal
features .of the scheme :—At each polling-booth
there are to be provided pen and ink, and a locked
box with a slit in the lid capable of receiving the
ballot paper. Into the booth the voters are to
enter singly, and no one else, except the returning
officer or his deputy and the scrutineers may be
to the number of one for each candidate at
each polling place, and they are sworn not to
attempt to ascertain for whom any one may
vote, or to aid in the discovery of the same,
unless legally required so to do. The return-
ing officer has a number of printed papers,
bear;ng the names of all the candidates, and suffi-
cient in number for all the electors who may be
expected to record their votes. He gives one of
these papers to each voter after having satisfied
himself as to his title to vote ; and the voter, re-
tiring, as we understand, behind a screen, crosses
out the names of all the candidates for whom ho

does not intend to vote, and then folding up the
paper so as to conceal its contents drops it into
the box. But a very important precaution has
first been taken. The officer writes on the outside
of the' paper the number which stands opposite to
the name of the voter on the register, at the same
time checking off the name of the elector. on the
register itself, which lies before him. The votes,
being counted in the presence of the mutineers

Mr. Keating, on the part, of the, def rid•int, now
roved to set aside the verdict, aid fora new trial
.on "the ground that the verdict was agairst the evi-
dence, and the damages excossive. The whole of
the plaintiff's case rested-on the evidence of the
Abbe Roux, who was a French priest, and who was
examined at the trial through an interpreter. His
story was that, biing in Paris in 1845, and hear-
that Princess Letitia Bonaparte, the wife of Mr.
Wise, the English minister at the court of Athens,
was there in distress, be determined to assist her,
and he accordingly engaged lodAngs for her, lent
her considerable sums, of money, and performfd
various acts of kindness to her, which he men-
tioned. He c miinued to make these advances
from 1845 until 1847, when he wrote out an ac-
count of what she owed him, and submitted it to
her, and she went over it in the pi es,nce of a lady
who was living as governess with her, but whom
be said he been unable to procure as a witness.
By this account it appeared that Madame Wise was
indebted to the abbe "to the extent of 25,000 f , and
on the same occasion she signed a document which
was the subject of the:present action. It was origi-
nally written in French, but had been translated in
these words : "I, the undersigned, the wife of Mr.
Wise, and born Princess Letitia Bonaparte, acknow-
ledge to have re‘ieived from the Abbe Roux a sum
of 25,009 f., which he lent me at a time of great
misfortune,—that is, B,ooof. in 1845, 12,000 E. in
1846, and 5,000 f. in 1847. I wish this money to
bear interest,at 5 per cent., and I conjure such of
my 'children as may become the heir to the fortune
of his father,' in the event of my dying before I
shall have paid the amount, not to forget that this
is a sacred debt, and that it is to take precedence
of all others." This clacument, he said, was signed
by. Madame Wise, and de'ivered to himself. The
learned counsel then detailed the other circum-
stances whiCh were deposed to by the plaintiff; and
have already been brought to the knowledge of the
public. They were briefly to this effect, that being
desirous, to bring about
.a reconciliation between
Madame Wise and her husband, who. had been
separated for a considetable time, he came over to
England in Noveniber, 1847, and had an interview
with Cardinal Wiseman, to whim lie delivered the
document in question, on the understanding that
it was not to be given up to Mr. Wise or any other
.person .until the money had been paid, land he posi-
tively swore that from that time until 1855 he never
heard of its having passed out of the hands of the
Cardinal into those of Mr. Wise, but it was quite
clear that for 7 years-he neyertook any steps whatever
with regard to it. In 1854 the plaintiff saw Cardinal.
Wiseinan in Paris, and told liim that he understood
he could get payment of the money from the Em-
peror, and he asked
.the Cardinal for the document,
in order to show the genuineness of the claim. The
Cardinal said he would look for it and send it over,
but it never came, and the plaintiff then 'returned
to England and saw the Cardinal repeatedly on the
subject, and requested him to write a letter to the
Emperor Napoleon for the payment of the money,
as be (the Cardinal) bad seen the document which
bad been signed by Madame Wise. At first Car-
dinal. Wiseman intended to do so, but Ultimately
declined for reasons which he then gave. It
seemed that the Abbe Roux bad, at his own,re
quest, obtained from Cardinal Wiseman employ-
ment as a priest at Chelsea, but at the end of 1855
complaints were made of his conduct, and an in
quiry having been instituted he was suspended, and
a few months afterwards ,he instituted this action
against Cardinal Wiseman. Upon these stattineNts
it of course became material to know, first, whether
the Abbe Roux ever knew, of the document having
been in the hands of Mr. Wise ; and, next, if be
did, what steps he took in the matter. At the
trial, he most solemnly denied that he ever heard,
up to 1854, that 'it was in the possession of
that gentleman; but a le ter which he had written
to Mr. Wise's soicitor was pit into his hands, dated
9th March, 1848, and. asking for' an a±nowledg-
ment from Mr. Wise of his having received, the
document, and adding that if the lady knew the
security had gone out of his own hands, she was
quite capable of saying she owed him nothing.
The last explanation which the plaintiff, gave of
this letter was wholly. unsatisfactory.
Lord Campbell—lf the document' was handed.
over to Mr. Wise with the concurrence of the
plaintiff, the action is not maintainable. •
Mr. Keating said the letter did not contain a
word, of complaint about the document being in
Mr. ise's possession ; nor did the plaintiff, during
the following seven years, Make tne slightest re-
monstrance on the subject. Cardinal Wiseman, in
the course of his evidence, admitted that ho had
seen the document, but he denied that it had ever
been placed in his custody, or that he had ever
agreed not to deliver it up until the money was
paid

Lord Campbell—How do you suppose it got into
the hands of Madame Wise's husb nd.
Mr. Keating—.l3y the Abbe Roux delivering it
to Mr. Wise himself. The evidence of Ma lame
Wise w taken by,commission, and it substantially
denied all the statements of the plaint fl. She did
not deny that she signed the document, but she
said it was prepared by the Abbe Roux, and her
signature obtained to it on his representing that he
wanted it to show the Archbishop of Paris, to ac-
count for his frequent visits to her house. She
added that she thought he burnt the document
when he visited her on a subsequent occasion.
Lord Campbell—And for that purpose she called
this a sacred. debt.
Mr. Keating said Madame Wise admitted that
she bad received some advances from the plaintiff,
but she repaid these, and as the accounts now
stood, instead of being in his debt; he owed her a
small sum.

\Lord Campbell—Did it appear that he made any
reconciliation between the husband and wife ?
Mr. Keating—There has been no reconciliagon
whatever. Mr. Wise positively refused to z etg-
nise his intervention in the matter.

Lord Campbell said the jury seemed to have, be-
lieved the Abbe Roux, and so far as his evidence
supported the action, there would be a Meaty in
disturbing the verdict.
Mr. Keating read the plaintiff's letter of the 9th
of March, 1848.
.Lord Campbell said the letter was certainly
strong evidence to show that the plaintiff knew
where the document was, and that he had no .tom-
plaint about its remaining in the custody of Mr.
Wise. As to the damages there would be gi;eat
difficulty in ascertaining what their amount should
be. It might be supposed that his Imperial T da-
jesty would, in his bounty, have paid the whole
amount on seeing the original document and find ing
it to be genuine.
Mr. Keating said the French Emperor had aoted
very generously in paying the debts of his relati ens,
but it would be au excess of benevolence on his
part to pay a debt which was denied by the relation
whose debt it was pretended to be.
Lord Campbell—Take a rule on both points. We
will, of course, hear both sides before we make. up
our minds.
Rule nisi.

• ,
ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS.—The following g 3 ntle-
men, having undergone the necessary examinatior cv for
the diploma, were admitted members of the college tt the
meeting of the Court of Examiners on the 13th ins :
Messrs. John James Chappell,,Axmouth, Devon ; 3 :awes
Gale Barford, Wokingham, Berkshire ; Walter B; tsnett
Ramsbottom, Amwell-street, Chrentont4.quare ; John
Alcock, Cobridge, Staffordshire ; William Hodges, Bre-
con, South Wales ; Alfred James Bannister, Trail) .Igar-
square, Chelsea ; Charles William Marriott, Lea ving•
ton, Warwickshire ; Francis Hunt Richardson, l Ugh'
gate ; Edward Brock, Canterbury ; and George E [,eery
Rsntzscb, Haverstook hill, Hampstead. The folio wing
members of the college, having undergone the r VeCes-
sary examinations, were admitted. licentiates in mid-
wifery at a meeting of the Board on the 15th instal
itnt:—n,
Messrs. John George Blackall, Hoxton ; Osborne !obn-
son, Basingham,Newark, Notts ; Noble, L to
Herefordshire ; William Hamilton, Exeter.; %% ttlliam
Podmore Jones, Marlborough-place, Old Kent .traad ;
William Theophilus Girdlestone, Wordsley, St liffoird-
-shire ; Thomas Donne, sittingbourne, Kent ; A.: Evans,
Llantyssil, Cardiganshire; John ThomaS, Car ttigan ;
Henry Knaggs, Huddersfield ; Joseph Hetbet ingeon,
Lamplugh-hall, Cumberland ; Wm. Langworthy • Baker,
Newton Abbot, Devorl ; Francis J. Davy, IC-niAtor,
Devon ; and William Mudd, Hadleigh, SuffoN,

The perplexities of the money market seem
greatPr than ever. For many months persons have
beenlooking to the present period as that at which
some turn in the unfavourable course of our bullion
balances might be expected, and instead we have
the Bank reverting to almost I s hfghest rate of dis-
count, white its stock of golds redired to a point
lower than at any time in the last 10 years. The
question is, can this sudden increase of pressure be
attiibuted to temporwy cause, or is it only a regu-
l'r stage of a condition which has already existed for
two or three years, and must now be considered per-
manent ? On the favourable side we have the fact
that, looking at the couree of a great number of
years, the ra :e of di4coun t in England averages about
4 per cont., and that consequently anyadvance he-
tween this point has always hitherto been followed
hy a proportionate reaction ; next, that the trade
of the country has for the last 27 months been of
unprecedented magnitude and heal=h in nearly
every department ' • next that, notwithstanding the
profits thus mad=., there has 'wen an unusual ab-
slinence from speculative commitments either at
home or abroad and, finally, that the agricul-
tUral returns of the kingdom have for the last two
years, to say the least, been perfectly satisfactory.
With a rirofitabli, export business; an economical
expenditure,- and a good yield of home produce,
the circumstance that the balatice of cash pay-
ments between ourselves and thti rest of the world
is uninterruptedly against us seems. an extra-
ordinary anomaly. Last year the conviction'
that our position in these respects could lead
only to a rapid improvement in our money market
was so strong that the most persevering warnings
-were necessary to prevent the public from at once
running -wildly into every description of foreign ad-
venture, and their surprise, therefore, may welt be
greats when, 'after 11. months' continuance of such'
prosperity, they find themselves increasingly in
debt to other nations. The chief explanation of-
fered is that the great commercial developthent con-
sequent upon the gold discoveries and other causes
hai created a demand for capital beyond all former
experience. This, however, is little beqer than
a superficial assumption. There has been no un-
expected addition to the population of the world

nor any conversion of nations from barbarism to
civilisation to warrant the: belief that our mer-
cantile transactions have been suddenly forced to
such maguitudo that our entire yearly gains are in-
sufficient to supply the extra capital requisite fur
carrying them on. The Australian discoveries are
now six years old; the population of those colonies
is still ins gni dcant, a large portion of them continue
their old avocations of producing wool and tallow,
and the occupation of the remainder who are engaged
in gold finding can have no material effect either in
increasing or diminishing the wealth of the world, or
in leading to an alteration of the rate of interest, how-
ever extraordinary may be its influence on the other
relations of property. It is tree that our exports last
year were 20,000,000/. above any recent average, and
that an augmentation is still taking place, but com-
mercial men know with what a slight increase of
actual money an improved trade to this extent may,
in times when credit is perfectly sound, be carried
on. Alarge part of the addition, moreover, is merely
consequent upon higher prices, and, although these
involve a proportionate increase in the movements
of capital, their effects are in most cases balanced
in the course ofa few months ;, since if we have to
pay more for our raw material we have also more to
receive for our manufactured goods, and the ulti-
mate bullion balances in settlement can therefore in
no way be. affected. Hence the doctrine that the
spread of commerce will account for the phenomena
now in prbgress must be discarded as unsatisfactory,
or, at all-events, insufficient-'Mother reasons must
be sought, and they,will probably be found much
more in consonance with the ordinary course, of
affairs. A failure of crops in some part of the world
'is generally at the bottom of all monetary disturb-
ances, and in the present instance., this solution is
one among others. Tee loss of silk last year in Itsly
and'France, the vine blight, the deficient yield of
wheat in France, the Peninsula, and many parts of
Germany, the destruction of the corn crop in the
United States in 1855, and the transfer conseqUent
upon the war of part of our Russian trade to India
seem enough. The official efforts on the continent
to, conceal from the people their real position in
times of disaster' have prevented the extent of im-
poverishment sustained by Fiance and other
countries during the past year from becoming
accurately known ' • but no one doubts that it has
been such as would explain a very severe re-
vulsion. Indeed the surprise has been that,
while the grounds for distress in that
country have, been perfectly apparent, she has es-
caped with a degree of monetary pressure not
greater than that witnessed in England. Has not
this result, however, been solely consequent upon
the extent to which she has drawn upon English
clpital? It is believed that the fall in: her Govern-
ment funds and railway securities has been arrested
solely by investments from this side. Political order
being maintained, while the extent of her agricul-
tural losses have been as 'lnches possible concealed,
the confidence of English capitalists in her securities
has not been shaken, and with every fresh decline
London investors have been disposed to increase
their stake. In this way we have mitigated the
pressure, and takenit in a great degree on our own
shoulders. At the same time, the fact of a
most important portion of European trade being
diverted to China and India, has caused a temp )-
rary lock-up both of money and of produce, since
probably at no time throughout the pa-t year has
thje been at sea less than 1,500,0001. of specie,
and an equal value in silk, tea, hemp, &c., beyond
what would otherwise have been so situated. Along
with these circumstances there have also been many
minor ones. The conviction that with the prevail-
ing prosperity of the country it was impossible
that the pressure for money could continue has
been so perseveringly held that investments—
usually too
_large and incautious--in Ameri-
can stocks have been continued to a much heavier
extent than has bean supposed, in order to se-
cure the advantage f low prices in New York.
The gradual absorption of bullion by the Austrian
Bank in preparation for a resumption of specie
payments in January next has likewise had an in-
fluence, as, well as the search for silver to suptly
the China market, which has kept a large quantity
of gold in transitu throughout Europe and South
America. Lately, the Persian and Chinese wars
have added to the demand, while for a long period
the calls have bee' steady for the Grand Trunk
Railway of Canada, and also for the Indian lines.
These considerations appear ample to account
for our present position without a resort to
any particular theories, and they are all of a
character to encourage a belief that affairs will
after some time resume their ordinary channel.
Good crops, however, can alone be the foundation
of any permanent change. At present the silk
harvest promises well, but it is too early to form
any conclusive opinion. The season appears also
to have been generally favourable for grain, but
that must be an anxious qiiestion for several months.
Under no circumstances, however, can a return to
cheap money be anticipated for several years.
While the commercial pressure has been going on
a multitude of claims for useful public works in our
colonies and elsewhere, with large guarantee., have
been held in abeyance, and these will offer oppor-
tunities to cause all persons to congratulate
them-
selves if they have kept their capital available.
Theat any one will be found under such circum
4 t
stances now wiling to commit himself to an
indefi-
nite outlay on Russian railways with g per as
his utmost prospect, and with many possibilities
to interfere even with that, is a contingency that
can hardly be entertained.

CURIOUS DISOOVERY.—A curious discovery was made
a short time sioce by some workmen employed in dig-
ging a cellar in the cattle market at Mentz (Lower
Rhine). • At the depth of about 12 feet they came on a
layer of turf, composed of a conglomeration of vege-
tables, bark, &c., in which were found soles of shoes,
large pieces of leather, and of woollen and linen clotb,
Roman knives,
lance heads, &c. The leather, which is
in a perfect state of preservation, is of Roman origin, for
the soles of shoes discovered are those of sandals, similar
to those which were found in the bed of the Thames.
Tho Wiesbaden Antiquarian Society purchased this first
lot; after which ti a Mentz Society made a further search,
and dug to a depth of 30 feet, where the layer.of turf
terminated. They found skins sown together, and large
enough to make entire garments, as well as other san-
dals very skilfully worked, and the soles studded with
small conical nails. What is extraordinary is the state of
preservation of all the objects thus found. There was
also,diacovered a part of a coat of mail, which differs en-
tirely from those of the middle ages.
[AnyzaTtszmENT].:—Kidneys, Bladder, and Prostrate Glands
—their complications, Diabetes Albuminuria, or Brights
Disease, &c.—their connexion with the Stomach, Liver, &c.,
and intimate association with the Ganglionic, or great cen-
tral or solar plexus of nerves, by Dr. Denis Cronin, price 2s
" To a sound theoretical knowledge of the painful and dis-
tressing diseases on which he writes, Dr. Cronin adds the ex-
perience derived from a large and successful practice."—
" News.""Smith and Seri, 52, Long Attn.

passengers.
Gibraltar dates are to the 6th inst. Exchanges
on the 4th were quoted as under :—.Loridon, 00
days' date, 511 to 514- ; Paris, ditto, sf. ,36c. ;
Marseilles, ditto, Of. 37c. ; Genoa, ditto, Of. 39c. ;
Madrid, eight days' sight, 1g dis. ; Cadiz,; ditto,
dis. ; Malaga, ditto, dis. ; Seville, ditto, dis. ;
Alicante, ditto, dis.'; Valencia, ditto, ; Bar-
celona, ditto, dis. Spanish pillared dollars, 4
per cent. prem.
The Gibraltar Chronicle of the 4th says :—" We
understand that the Ist Royals (2d Battalion), 31st
and 47th Regiment; now forming the brigade
under Major-General W. F. Williams at Malta,
are to come to Gibraltar. These rTiments will re-
lieve the 15th and 960, which aro to proceed to
England."
An easterly breeze sprang up early on the moin-
ing of the 4th, which was taken advantage of by a
great number of the wind-bound vessels (amounting
to between 400 and 500), det tined for some time in
the Bay, Algeciras Roadstead, and at the back of
the Rock, and they got under way for the west-
ward ; but the wind did.not last long enough to
enable the whole of them to c!ear the Straits, and
on the 6th there were stdl nearly 100 sail at the
back of the Rock. •
The Bremen ship Ann Lange, which had bean
for a long time in the Bay under average repairs,
was towed through the Straits during the niBlit of
the 3d by the steam tug Orient.
The master (Samuel Webb) and crew of the
American bark Ellen S. Parsons totally wrecked
off Cape Palos, had' arrived at Gibraltar from the
coast, on their way to the United States. The
vessel was laden with fruit, bound to Boston from
Palermo.
The Gibraltar Chronicle of the 3d pub!ishes the
following shipping news, received on the previous
day from Malaga by the French steamer Danube
"The American barque.Virginia Ann (of Charleston),
Captain Wiley, which left Gibraltar Bay a few days ago
for the westward, was driven by•the current to the east-
ward of the Rock in her attempt. to pass the Straits,
when she unfortunately came into collision with an
unknown ship, and in consequence was obliged to put
into galaga with loss of bowsprit, stanchions, bows
stove in, &c.
-"The British ship Royal Sovereign (of Belfast),
Captain Teare, reported cruising at the back of the Rock,
had likeviise been in collision with an Unknown vessel,
losing her bowsprit and suffering other do age.
"The British brigantine William Milne (of London),
Goodwin master, was run down off Malaga by the Ame-
rican barque arion ; cFew happily saved, and con-
veyed into that port by the barque. .
"The Norwegian barque Augusta put into the same
port in distress, having been in collision with•an un-
known vessel. A Sardinian brig and a barque, as well as
a British brig, all in distress, had also put into Malaga,
for the purpose of repairing damages suffered on their
voyage." _

1 Ilia British barque. Queen of Commerce, Ralph
Hillary, master, laden with corn, from Sunderland
for Alexandria, stranded a mile south of Cape
Spartel at about 2 a.m. on the 2d inst. ; weather
thick and foggy. The master and craw had arrived
at Tangier for assistance, and reported that the
vessel was making no water when they left' her. It
was, however, doubtful, from her exposed position,
whether she cou'd be got off.
Her Majesty's steamship Cressy, Captain R.
Warren, 19 days from Malta ; the steamer Sphynx,
Captain Wilmot-, 11 days from Malta ; and the
steam frigate Magicienne, Captain N. V'ansittart,
eight days from Malta and five and a hale from
Cagliari, arrived at Gibraltar on the 4th.
Her Majesty's steam line-of-battle ship Majestic,
with invalids to England, was towed towards the
Straits early on the morning of the Gth by her Ma-
jesty's steam tug Redpole, and then set sail for
England, the Redpole returning to her moorings.
The Royal Yacht Squadron schooner 'Eugenie
sailed from Gibraltar on the 4th for Vigo and
Cowes, and the Royal Yacht Club schooner Mina
left at 8 o'clock on the same morning for the West.
The Cadiz Contribuyente of the 3d states th tt
the Spanish sloop of war Villa.de Bilban, 30 guns,
Captain J. Polo de Barnabe, and the schooner
Cataguera, six guns,. sailed from Cadiz on the 2d
inst. for Buenos Ayres:

The Tagus steam-packet left her Majesty's ships
Exmouth, Princess Royal, and Colossus at Lisbon
on the 9th. The steamer Plumper had coaled and.
left the previous day.
The Lisbon exchanges for bills at three months
are noted this mail at 534 on London, with money
over and a scarcity of paper; Paris, 533, in demand;
Hamburg, 471 to g, in demand ; Amsterdam, 411
nominal; and Gen0a,,535, also nominal.
The demand for Government stock had decreas
and the market left off dull ; for Three per Cents.
registered, 47 to 471 ; Coupons, 4G to ; Deferred,
27k to • ; Bank of Portugal shares, 517 to 520
milreis each; and the Oporto Commercial Bank,
20 to 21 per cent. premium.