The Sun.
London, England, 1859-04-23 00:00:00

administration of the important territory confided
to her charge in 1815, by. THE HOLY ALLIANCE (!)
destroyed every sympathy that could be entertained
in her favour. She had, however, Treaty engagements
to rely on, and might insist on doing what she liked
with that which was made her own some forty-four
years since. But there could be no possible
justification of her interference with States which
ought to be perfectly independent, and to
the level whereof she seeks to reduce Piedmont,
so as to become the absolute and autocratic mis-
tress of Italy. Had she even a better case, her
latest proceeding would prevent any assistance that
might be granted by this country to an ancient
ally.
France has scarcely a better claim. It was the
criminal ambition of the EMPEROR that has brought
about the crisis. He probably thought that a little
" bluster and bunkum" would make Austria yield
to every requisition which he might think
proper to put forward. He, however, " reckoned
without his host," and may well stand aghast at the
requisitions of the demon he had himself evoked.
Sardinia will be the chief sufferer. If not ruth-
lessly ravaged before French aid can be obtained,
and the Austrians clearly understand that portion
of military: tactics, her fertile plain, will be made
the cockpit of contending parties ; and no matter
what may be the ultimate result, the people will
have ample cause to deplore the events that led to
such a lamentable catastrophe. She has, how-
ever, brought it on herself by becoming the tool
and instrument of a despotic Prince, and the nation
may have as much cause to deplore the ruthless sacri-
fice so recently perpetrated as the unfortunate baby
Princess herself.

The truckling and shuffling now going on before
various constituencies in regard to the Ballot can-

not be regarded as calculated in any degree to raise

;he character of our leading statesmen. In some
.nstances this shuffling in regard to the Ballot is

carried to a degree little less than absolutely dis-
graceful ; insomuch that it cannot but inevitably
tend to lower the standard of political morality,

and to weaken the confidence of the public in the

Leaders of party.
It was only the other day we found ourselves

constrained to point the finger of scorn and indigna-
tion against the gross and flagrant inconsistency of
the so-called chief among the champions of the

Ballot, the member for the City of Bristol, the
Chairman of the Ballot Society'. The extraordi-

nary course pursued by MR. BERKELEY upon the
submission of Mr. \VYLD's admirable, well-timed,
and most manly amendment to the House of Com-
mons—the amendment declaring the necessity of
the Ballot in whatever Reform Bill might be even-

tually submitted to Parliament—Mr. BERKELEY'S
extraordinary conduct upon this occasion had
awakened the suspicions of every staunch and con-

sistent advocate of that most essential of all the
changes required in our system of popular
representation. Those suspicions were only
too painfully justified in that audacious
letter in which the member for Bristol

urged upon the electors of London the acceptance
of Lord JOHN RUSSELL, notwithstanding—these
are Mr. BERKELEY'S own words—" his (Lord
JOHN'S) disinclination to afford the only true pro-
tection to the elector." In spite of Lord JOHN
RUSSELL'S direct and avowed antagonism to the
Ballot he is, according to Mr. BERKELEY'S written
declaration (dated the 15th of April, 1859), en-
titled "to the gratitude of all good Reformers,"
and ought, according to the Chairman of the Ballot
Society, to be returned by the City of London as
one of its four Liberal representatives ! This self-

same Chairman of the Ballot Society having
only ten days previously signed his name
to another document (dated the sth of April,
1859), equally pithy and equally positive—a
political round-robin, in which the electors of
the United Kingdom were told (even more plainly
than the electors of the City of London were told
ten days afterwards exactly the very reverse)—
" Reject every candidate who is opposed to, or
hesitates on the Ballot." So that Mr. BERKELEY
blew cold on the sth of April, and hot on the 15th

of April. A power of lungs, a toughness of con-
science, and an elasticity of principle to which we
do most earnestly commend the attentive considera-
tion of the Liberal Reformers who have been
hitherto his confiding constituents.
That is an instance of most flagrant shuffling
in regard to the Ballot on the part of one of its
advocates. To it we referred on Wednesday. To
it we have now even more briefly reverted, as per-
haps, of all, the most glaring case in point in the
whole catalogue.

Now, as to the truckling to the growing neces-
sity for the Ballot manifested in rather a conspi-
cuous manner by one of the chief of its reputed
Antagonists.

Sir JAMES GRAHAM, who has the consummate
effrontery to accept as an accurate definition of
himself the derisive soubriquet of a weathercock—

recently applied to him by a local antagonist—rather
piquing himself, indeed, upon the aptness of the;m-
plied similitude—talks to the electors of Carlisle
about the Ballot. Haw does Sir JAMES GRAHAM
talk to the electors of Carlisle about the Ballot?
How in the name of conscience does he talk to
them about it ? Why, in plain English after this
fashion.' 116 says to the electors—the Ballot being
such an extremely ticklish question just now that
he feels he must be about as meally-mouthed as
possible under the circumstances—he treads on
this delicate corn thus tenderly—" Now there is
the Ballot"—he says—" of course it would be out
of the question to pretend for a single instant that
I am otherwise than against the Ballot. I AM
against it. I acknowledge that candidly and
frankly. But I have for some time past observed
such a growing disposition on the part of the
electors to have the Ballot in spite of my opposi-
tion to it upon principle—on my sacred honour
upon the highest and purest principle—that I
have carefully abstained from voting against it of
late whenever it has been dragged before Parlia-
ment. lam so perfectly aware of the advisability
of keeping upon the best terms with one's sup.
porters down in the borough of Carlisle that I
have :swallowed my high-principled objections to
the Ballot of late, and have abstained from wound-
ing the mistaken susceptibilities and fantastic pre-
dilections of my own particularly free-thinking and
liberal-minded constituents. I believe, even as
things are at present, that you really are begin-
ning to want the Ballot: Only say so now
plainly and point-blank by returning to Parlia-
ment my nephew—a capital fellow, by the way,
and a right good hunter across country, and one
who, as a politician, goes slap dash even over that
rasper, the Ballot—declare plainly now for the
Ballot by returning my nephew (who likes it) and
myself (who don't) and—[the right hon. baronet
lays the forefinger of his right hand significantly
On the side of his nose]—l have not the slightest
doubt of it, we shall manage the thing comfortably
for you in the new Parliament ! My nephew—(you
won't find him stick at a trifle)—he begins where
his uncle began before him, at that lowest rung
of all in the social ladder, the rung of Radicalism)
—will vote for the Ballot. As for me—just in the
• nick of time I'll slip out of the way ciinveniently