The Sun.
London, England, 1850-03-08 00:00:00

THE BALLET.

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CHARLE.3

been Treatly in-

debate, and the VILLIERS of the entire movement,
brought forward, according to expectation, his
annual motion for the Parliamentary adoption
of the Ballot, as the method of collecting the
votes of the people for their representatives.
As the Noble Lord the Member for Marylebone, him-
self one of the most genuine patriots and one of the
most consistent reformers in the House of Commons,
very happilylasserted, the name of HENRY BERKE-
LEY has become a name dear to the people of
England, from his earnest and persevering advocacy
of this, " the darling measure" .of the community.
Although it may come to pass that the triumph of
the great cause with which Mr. BERKELEY has be-
come inseparably associated may not occur until he
and the rest of this generation have passed
away --- yet, when the good day shall
come at last, and . come it most inevit-
ably will, the share taken by that Honour-
able Gentleman in the advancement of this glorious
scheme of reformatory innovation cannot by any pos-
sibility be forgotten. The Ballot may have its Sir
ROBERT on the Treasury benches, and its COBDEN in
the monster meetings throughout the country, but
the population will even then most assuredly call to
mind the great and the good service dons in their
behalf by the Ceraunies VILLIERS of the measure,
the present Honourable Representative of the city of
Bristol. Year after year, has that Hon. Gentleman
forced this most important reform upon their unwil-
ling consideration; session after session has he justi-
fied himself in so doing by speeches of remarkable
Ability, great logical acumen, and replete with the
most unimpeachable and conclusive evidence in favour
of the Ballot. Admirable, however, as have been some
of his oratorical efforts upon this subjeCt, not one
of his harangues in favour of the Ballot has sur-
passed the bold, lucid, and altogether unanswerable
speech delivered by him last evening. Unfortu-
nately the result of the division was scarcely so
encouraging as might have been expected, from the
success obtained in 1848: on the introduction of
the same motion by the same Hon. Gentleman. Pos-
sibly bearing the temporary defeat then sustained by
them in recollection, the oppornmts of the proposed
measure were induced for the prevetnion of a similar
annoyance to be more punctual in their attendance;
and hence probably it happewld that the motion was
at once defeated by a tnejority of 55, the respective
numbers being, for the niocion 121, against it
176. Yet even upon this calculation we are
surely JrnAified in anticipating, the sv.-stly adoption of
the Babot by the Legislature, if we only contrast the
division of last evening, in a House of 297, with the
divisions which, in the time of CHARLES VILLIER'S
annual motion for the abolition of the imposts on
corn, used to impart such confident hilarity to the then
predominant monopolists.
E.:tirnating the correctness or inaccuracy.of the
deductions of those who, like onrselvei, are, strenuous
advocates of the Ballot, simply from the proportionate
force of the arguments for and against that measure,
introduced in the debate of last evening, we are bold
to aver ,they according to that estimate alone the
adviso:bility of the Legislative adoption of the
13,dict Instald be sufficiently proven. Nothing
could possibly be more contemptible in point of J
logic than the reasoning of the opponents •of
the Ballot yesterday. One of these splen-
did logicians, the Honourable, Gallant, and
eccentric Representative of Lincoln • said, that
he would most certainly oppose the acceptance
of the motion if it were only because it was asserted
th;lt the Ballot worked well abroad—for this
reason (hear it, 0 Archbishop of DUBLIN 1 hear it
0 WILLIAM WHEWELL !) that he, Colonel SIBTEOUP,
objected to all foreign innovations, and also to all
foreign competition I Again Mr. HEALD opposed
it most resolutely, because, according to him, the
constituencies of England would be ashamed, ind.ho.
considered very naturally so, at biding their votes
in the ballot-box. Yet, it rather strikes us that
there is something much more decidedly requiring
an emotion of shame in the system of balloting prac-
tised in the circles frequented by the Hon. Member
for Stockport, than in the system of balloting
propos.ed•to be introduced among those constituencies.
Let us just contrast thes two systems foi'effizifitalit,'
and see which is moat deserving of a blush. liere is
an honest, hard-working, tradesman, who drops into
the ballot- box his vote for his favourite candidate.
In doing this he injures no'rnan, he assails.no man,
he only protects himself from the vengeance of his
wealthy customers. Here, on the other hand, is the
member of a fashionable club, shaking hands one
miiette with a man maybe he calls Lis
friend, nod the next minute dropping a
black bean into the . ballot-box of his club
against the admission there of this very same indivi-
dual. He thereby covertly gives his vote against an-
other, and by the system in vogue is empowered at
any moment to cast a blot upon the most inno'cent
reputation. Which of these two men has greater
cause for shame ? Has the first any ? lies -not the
second much? We conceive that the comparison
admits of not a moment'e argument.
Of all the speeches delivered in last night's discus-
sion against the Ballot, the most deserving of atten-
tion was the one delivered by the Right Honourable
the Secretary for the Home Department. Never-
theless, even there the logic was merely sophistical„
a mere agglomeration of plausibilities, the force of
which was materially diminished by the recollection
that Sir GEORGE GREY had voted for the very
measure against which he was then arguing. With
the-a oorntnents on the debate of last evening, we
of iW I:r7.eily but earnestly and most cordially asso-
ciate nn 2-:::':ession of popular gratitude to the Hon.
Gentleman the Member for the City of Bristol.
Aga!: -Fe utter with all possible emphasis the pre-
diet on that the Ballot will in the end be passed
through the Houses of the Legislature, and that
when that ,Rey arrives the people of England will
bear in affectionate remembrance the patriotic exer-
tions of Hermes BBRXELET.

We trust that the circumstances of the melancholy
case investigated at Winchester, on Tuesday last,
will be attentively considered and long borne in mind
by those entrusted with the important duty of ad-
ministering relief to the destitute poor throughout
the kingdom. Through "a mistake," as asserted by
the Learned Counsel for the defence, an unfortunate
woman, far advanced in pregnacy, came to a
miserable and untimely end, and a relieving officer
was called upon to answer, in a court of justice,
for having, through -his culpable negligence,
if not positive inhumanity, occasioned the death
of a fellow-creature death, too, in its most linger-
ing and horrible form, from want of the commonest
necessaries of existence. such cases are, happily, of
rare occurrence, and as the law is sufficiently strin-
gent to punish the parties implicated, and, more espe-
cially, as the prisoner had always been considered " a
very humane man to the poor," we are willing to
believe with the, jury, that the untoward event was
altogether the result of "a mistake." We do nct,
therefore, now allude to the eircumstanefn
for the purpose of inflicting pain upon a
man who has been honourably acquitted by
the nnatirreus verdict of twelve of his country-
men, and who will not, in all human proba-
bility, again commit a like error. But it is important
that the painful lessen should !lot- be lost sight of by
personn holding similar sitnatione—that they should
learn the fate consequences to others, and the personal
inconvenience to themselves, that may result from too
great an anxiety to detect imposters, and a readiness
to act on mere suspicion and without' any distort
or positive evidence to warrant a harsh and peremp-
tory refusal of relief.
It appeared that ELIZABETH BIGGS, the party
whose melancholy death formed the subject of
inquiry, being in a state of destitution and great ill-
nesa called on Friday, the 21st of December, upon
Mr. Coos am,. one dcaemedieal °Ewen of the union.
She bad previously been attended for influenza, from
Ilrhich she hta recovered, although great debility crae
still remaining. On examination she appeared to be
very much exhausted, and stated "that she had but
little to eat for the four days preceding." The sur-
geon at once rerceired that it was a case of Urgent
necessity ; the uncreareuees were Well Si 3 must have
been observed by any person, as hell as by a medical
man ; they etcld not have been counterfeited by an im-
postor. SRe zra,7 very pale; 1 har conntenance WAS
8:3311114K; anfj (.?.'"ie had a .weak,threely, and compressible
pulse, the el:ghtest touch stopped it. The hands were
cold, the te?gu3 pale, and breath eery offensive. Shp
coruplair', of no pain, but said, she thought it was
moiefr' want of food than anything else." Such

were the symptoms of the miserable woman, who was
at the time far advanced in pregnancy, and certainly
it did not appear to require much medical skill to
ascertain the truth and accuracy of her statement.
It was eminently a case fur restoratives, for warm and
generous food and nourishment. The surgeon at
once gave a written order for her relief, which he
gave to her sister, the woman being too weak to
attend to herself. She proceeded to the workhouse ;
it appeared she was two hours going, although the
distance was scarcely a quarter of a mile, in fact,
she could not walk without taking some person's
arm. On arriving at the place of shelter and refuge,
she was, however, denied the assistance so urgently
required.. She went into the board-room with a
paper in her hand, supposed to be the order which the
medical officer swore he had given, but of which the
prisoner denied the receipt, and which did not ap-
pear on the file where such documents were usually
deposited. In place, however, of receiving aid
and notigishment, she was roughly told that " she
would get nothing: there but the tramp-house, and
that on the following‘nprning she should take herself
off." She was then taken to the miserable shed, kept
for the accommodation of the. casual poor, where she
was kept without food, fire, of 'clothing, on a most
inclement night. There was no fire=place or beds in
the tramp-house, nothing but straw, and that was all
given to a woman suffering under symptoms such as
we have described, and in a situation that should
have excited the sympathy and compassion of every
person possessed of the commonest feelings of hu-
manity. Some time afterwards one of the reliev-
ing officers, who happened to be at the
workhouse on out-door business, had his
attention called to a woman who was sick in the
tramp-house. He procured a lantern, and saw the
deceased and her child, and at once perceived the ne-
cessity of something being done. He told the pri-
soner that " it WoUtd be better. to relieve her," but
.
was answered that " she was one of the impostors
that very much abounded." No food was given, but
she was handed an order for a bed at Bowjoua's,
which was at a distance of three-quarters of a mile.
She s as found at nine o'clock in the streets by her
sister, who assisted her to the place, where she ob-
tained a bed, het no other relief; four or five hours
having elapsed while strz was detained in the tramp-
limbs and the streets. She was obliged to leave even
that shelter the next morning, and again applied at
the workhouse, having had nothing to eat in the in-
terim. The second application had no better result
than the former, for on that occasion she did not even
obtain admission to the tramp-house or a bed,at Bow-
lOHA'S. Her sister, who was scarcely better off than
herself, borrowed twopence to pay for a miserable
lodging that night, but no food was given to
the starving creature. On the following day
she afforded the most powerful evidence of
the accuracy of her " ower true statement,"
and death, more kind then the Poor-law officers,
relieved her from her misery and sufferings. We
shall not enter into the painful details of the post
mortem examination; sufficient appeared to show
that she had indeed died of starration, and this under
our much lauded Constitution, which affords a right
to every destitute person to receive support and main-
tenance.

Another circumstance came out in the course of
the trial which showed that the. guardians them-
selves were in some degree responsible for the occur-
rence. The wretched woman had, it appears, been in
receipt of is. per week as out-door relief, and she had
managed to support existence on that miserable pittance.
An anonymous letter was, however, received, stating
that she was in receipt of 303. a week. •The surgeon
did not believe this statement, but he advised the
guardians to act on it, by diminishing her allowance,
and thus, on' no better evidence than the whispered
insinuation of some malignant scoundrel, was the
rule adopted thst led to the death of the unfortunate
ELIZABETH EtuGs. We cannot conclude without
again expressing an earnest hope that the entire cir-
cumstances of this melancholy case will long be
borne in mind by guardiar.s, medical and relieving-
officers, and that it will constitute a valuable lesson
for the guidance of these functionariei.

TEIE FRENCH REPUBLIC

We have received the Paris journals of yesterday.
El The Legitimatists are bitterly disappointed at the
1 result of the preliminary ballot of the Union Eiec-
torale. Not ono of their candidates has been chosen,
and their organs are already advocating the pro-
priety of breaking faith with the other contracting
parties to the Union Electorale, and setting up some
candidates of their own; others of the party, how-
ever, who are perfectly aware that atone they stand
no chance, propose that the Legitimatists shoald vote
far the Socialist list. In acting thus it must be ad-
mitted that the Legitimatists would not.be, in reality,
so inconsistent as might 'at first sight appear. The
firet name on the Socialist list is that of the Vicomte
DE FLOTTE, a ci devant aristocrat and Legitimatist,
who was sentenced to transportation as one of the in-
surgents of June, but afterwards pardoned by the Pan..
SIDENT of the Republic. Indeed it is evident that in the
outbreak of June, 1848, there was complete molidarite
between the Legitimatists and the Socialists, the
latter finding bone and muscle end sinew, and the
former money. The rich Legitimatists, however,
had the cunning, when it became evident that the
attempt could not succeed, to sneak off and leave the
unfortunate Socialists in the lurch.

On Wednesday the Bureaux examined the demand
of the Attorney-General for permission to prosecute
M. MICHEL (de Bourges). Of the Committee
chosen, nine were in favour of the prosecution, and
six against it. It is said that the Commissary of
Police had committed the mistake of attributing to M.
MICHEL (de Bourges) words, which had been ut-
tered by some one the.

The "Alsaciess of Strasburg states that the first
nucleus cf the army of the East is already forming
in that city. Two regiments are already on their
march for that city from Lyons.

La Liberte contains the following paragraph with
reference to Rome :

" Our private information. leads ws to believe that tho
return of Pius IX. to his capital will bo mad: subordi-
nate to his adhe.lion to the policy of the French Go-
vernment. It is only from that moment that the partial
or total withdrawal of our soldiers horn Rome will take
effect."

The Abbe TOIGNE was convicted, before the Court
of A...Aze of Toulon on the 2d instant, for having
publiah,cl an iturnorAl and blasphemous libel eaned
the Mysteries of the Confessional. He was sen-
tenced to imprisonment for 10 months, and to pay
500 f. fine.

A letter from Lyons, of the 4th instant, states that
the 7th and 19th Regiments of the Line, forming half
of the garrison of that city, have received orders to
proceed to the eastern frontier. They are to be re-
placed by the 13th and 17th R?ginients of the Line
from Rome.

PARIS BOURSE, AII.RcH 6.—Latest Prices:—Five per
Cents, 931. 70c.; Threo per Cents., 58f.; Bank of Francp,
2,290 f.
BUSINESS DONE IN FOREIGN RAILWAYS AT THE
LONDON STOCK-EXCHANGE, Marten 7.
Boulogne and Amiens, 7 Central of France (Orleans
and Vierzon), 13 Northern of France, 133 a Orleans
and Bordeaux, 314—East Indian, 554—Namur and Liege,
61A—Sambre and Meuse, 2►,4.