The Sun.
London, England, 1859-10-14 00:00:00

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Perhaps we should rather say the steelyards, for as
this party shifts its position, this way or that, it can

overbalance the heaviest weight on the other side,

not by its intrinsic weight, but by its position.

Our House of Commons is, index d, in much the
same plight ; but there those that can turn the
scale are the independent members. At Gloucester,
and in similar constituencies, it is the venal who
decide. There are a host of boroughs in the same
position. Respectable and earnest political prin-
ciple on both sides; but the most despicable indif-
ference to every thing but money pronounces
whether the principle of Forward or of Standstill
shall be represented in our House of Commons by
Gloucester. No one professes to doubt the de-
basing tendency, in regard to all parties, of such
a state of things. Whichever principle be best,
putting it up to auction must deprive it of all its
moral, intellectual, and political value in regard
to the bribers as well as the bribed. The
latter, though the lowest educationally and
socially, are confessedly the least guilty of the two !
We are by no means sure that they are not the less
corrupted by the system. Respectable citizens are
now driven, not to understand and argue for their
political views, but to hunt up a rich candidate,
and to use his money in bribery or evading the
laws of the land, and demoralising their more
needy fellow-townsmen.
It is also clear enough, as the Commissioners
will probably report, that there is no substantial
difference between Whigs and Tories. The venal
electors, who are estimated at from 150 at the
lowest to 400 at the highest, in a constituency re-
gistering about sixteen hundred voters, are bid
for with equal zeal by both parties. Each party
thinks it has a majority of those not to be bribed
—each lays on the other the blame of beginning
the bribery at each election ; and probably each has
generally found some plausible case on the opposite
side which has led them to fear that if they did not
purchase freely their antagonists must beat. Wo
think, however, it is pretty plain that, as ono wit-
ness said, under an election by Ballot the Liberals
would win. The people naturally are on the
Liberal side, but Liberal politics are not worth their
weight in gold. There can be no doubt that if
neither side had bribed at the last election, the
Liberals, not Palmerstonian Whigs, but Ballot
Liberals, would have been the winners by a con-
siderable majority.
One fact we commend to Lord JOHN RUSSELL'S
attention. All parties scout the Corrupt Practices
Prevention Act. Sir WILLIAM HATTER, Mr.
PRICE, the lately unseated candidate, and Mr.
LOVEGROVE, Sir R. CARDEN'S legal agent for con-
ducting his election, are all agreed that it is a sham
—a blind—and was intended to be so. We may
add that Lord BROUGHAM himself, in his recent
speech at Bradford, said, as plainly as the
occasion permitted, the same thing. Mr. PRICE tells
us that, " When he saw that every clause suggested
for the amendment of the Corrupt Practices Act
was objected to on both sides, he looked upon that
Act as waste paper—as the mere homage of vice to
virtue. It was never intended to have any effect
in checking corruption, and he had always felt a
sort of contempt for it. It was useless frombeginning
to end, and he had never heard any member say it
was of the slightest value." Worse indeed than
that; for the money formerly spent in chairing
processions, &c., was now spent in other ways
—what other ways Gloucester too well knows.
Sir WILLIAM HATTER himself declared
that he did not know the requirements of
the Act ho helped to pass, and his reason was,
" that it was practically useless." That is, Sir
WILLIAM looked well to it in its passage through
the house ; and having taken good care it should
not spoil his trade, did not trouble himself to re-
member its provisions.
And the shrewd Gloucester lawyer, Alder-
man CARDEN'S agent, what says he? "After
his consultation with counsel, and with his
ether experience of elections, he believed the Cor-
rupt Practices Prevention Act was mere moon-
shine. The Act might be made much more stri-s-
-gent if there was any real intention on the part
of the Legislature to put down bribery ; but
in his opinion no such intention exists." And
what says Lord BROUGHAM, in his remarks of a
judicial kind, on the subject of electoral corruption
—remarks to which we shall advert more dis-
tinctly ere long :—" Some good would assuredly
be done by requiring a very stringent declaration
from all members on taking their seats, as I and
others—my friend Sir JOHN PAKINGTON among
them—have frequently suggested : a solemn decla-
ration that they not only did not know, but had no
reason whatever to suspect, that any corrupt prac-
tice had been used on their behalf at their election,
and that they had furnished no money for such
practices, and would pay no expenses which had
been thus incurred. If it were enacted that
no voter should be employed for hire in any
capacity, a declaration could not be made by any
man having the least regard for his reputation, if
either he or his agents had been guilty, either
directly or indirectly, of bribery."
Yet such a clause as this our legislators refused
to pass ! Why they refused cannot be doubtful.
Simply and solely for the same reason as they
refuse to adopt the Ballot. They have bribed, and
they mean to bribe. There is and can be no other
reason for their hostility to such a declaration and
to the Ballot. We should have both were they
honestly opposed to bribery. We shall have,
however, a word or two more to say soon on Lord
BROUGHAM, Gloucester, and the Ballot.

ARRIVAL OF TILE QUEEN AT

EDINB URGH.

EDINBURGH, THURSDAY NIGHT.
The Queen and the Royal family arrived here at twenty
minutes after six o'clock this evening.

Her Majesty alighted at St. Margaret's station, and drove
through the park to HolyTood under a salute from the Castle
heights.

The Duke of Duceleach, General Viscount Melville,
and Sheriff Gordon were in attendance to receive the royal

The Duko of Newcastle accompanies her Majesty as
Secretary of State in attendance. _ _

The Queen left Balmoral at half-past ten, and took the
railway at Banchory at half-past twelve o'clock.
The royal party lunched at Stonehaven, and arrived at
Perth at four o'clock.

The whole railway journey of 177 miles was run in less
han six hours.

111 h Cawkwell, general manages of the London and
North-Western Railway, has charge of the royal train.
At ten o'clock to-morrow the Queen will leave Edin-
burgh for Loch Latrine, in the Trossachs, to inaugurate
the opening of the new waterworks for the supply of the
city of Glasgow.

The weather is fine, and promising wall for a very inte-
resting ceremony in the midst of some of the finest scenery
in the world.

It is now definitely arranged that the Prince of
Wales will arrive at Oxford onMonday next, to commence
his studies at the university. His Royal highness will be
accompanied by Colonel tha Hon. Robert Bruce, Governor
of the Household, and suite.
His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge
returned to town last night from Lytham Hall, Lancashire,
where he has been staying on a visit to Colonel and Mrs.
Talbot Clifton.
The Princess Anatole Bariatinsky and family
have left Grillion's Clarendon Hotel, for Paris.
The Earl of Moray, Lady Margaret Stuart, and
the Hon. George Stuart leave the Oatlands Park Hotel,
Weybridge, this day, for Scotland.
It is with much pleasure we learn that Messrs.
Caldecott, Sons, and Willeocks have given the handsome
sum of 23 guineas to the London Warehousemen. and
Clerks' Provident Association, Andrew Caldecott, Esq.,
having kindly consented to become one of its patrons.