The Sun.
London, England, 1844-08-12 00:00:00

DUDLEY ELECTION.

Mr. Benbow has been returned for Dudley by a
large majority—more than two to one out of 563 who
voted. The numbers were—for Mr. Benbow, 388 ;
for Mr. Rawson, 175. The result was fully expected.
The Government press will, we trust, remember in
its exultation, that Mr. Benbow goes to Parliament,
having disavowed under compulsion on the hustings
personal attachment to Sir R. Peel, and tracing ge-
neral depression of trade in his new constituency to
Sir R. Peel's tariff. Mr. Benbow then is one more
added to that band of " generous supporters" of the
Government, between whom and the Government the
Prime Minister has confessed that there are wide dif-
ferences on fundamental principles—another recruit
for " Allies's boy."
There is another thing which the Government press
will do well to bear in mind. The number of regis-
tered electors in Dudley is 911, out of which number
only 563 have voted in all, and only 388, less than
half the whole number 67, have voted for Mr. Ben-
bow. Mr. Benbow then has been returned to Par-

liament by the votes of a minority of the electors of
Dudley.
That 348 electors out of 911 should have abstained
from voting altogether, admits of only one explana-
tion—influence. If so many have stayed away from
the poll to avert Lord Ward's displeasure, how many
of those who have voted for Lord Ward's agent may
have given the direct lie to their convictions ?
Who will believe that a manufacturing constitu-
ency like Dudley would have sent a man to Parlia-
ment to vote for denying foreign markets to its ma-
nufactures, and cheap bread to its artisans, if
dependent voters had been protected by the ballot
from intimidation ? The Dudley election, then, is
another proof, added to the recent Salisbury, Hastings,
Exeter, and South Lancashire elections, of the ne-
cessity of the ballot.
We took the occasion of the late vacancy for
Cirencester—where the Government have achieved
another triumph in the return of Lord
Villiers to represent Lord Bathurst and the
local banker's overdrawn accounts —to call
attention to another class of recent elections
for small boroughs, where the ballot by itself could
not be a sufficient remedy. In Abingdon, Buck-
ingham, Christchurch, Cirencester, Devizes, Horsham
Huntingdon, Launceston, and Woodstock—in all of
which the constituencies are under 500, in all but one
of which (Cirencester) under 400, and in one of
which (Abingdon) under 300 —wholesale bribery and
intimidation might still neutralise the ballot. The
Government purse might still afford to furnish a sum
to be divided among the bulk of the electors of Abing-
don, if the Government candidate were returned.
The Duke of Buckingham might still sway the 380
electors of Buckingham with his own band of depen-
dents—have them called together and told, " Your
number is sufficient to ensure the return of my can-
didates—if they are not returned, you will all have
notices to quit?'
Besides, whether improper influences exist or not,
can it be said that constituencies of two, three, four,
and five hundred are sufficiently large to give anything
like the attainable security for a proper choice of re-
presentatives! If the 225 electors of Harwich were
all spotless as the milk-white hind, would it not yet
be monstrous that so small a number should choose
two Members of Parliament? If the 170 electors of
Caine and the 190 electors of Reigate—we wish to
be impartial—were entirely independent respectively
of Lord Lansdowne and Lord Somers, would it be
right for such miserably small constituencies each to
return a member to Parliament, when so large .a
number of men possessing the qualification of the
Caine and Reigate electors are without a voice in the
representation ?
We have derived our information as to the numbers
of the different constituencies from a return of regis-
tered electors, moved for by Mr. Hume. The same
return furnishes us with the following facts :
That there are forty-four boroughs in England
returning each one member to Parliament, and thirty-
two returning each two members to Parliament, with
less than five hundred electors; making in all ninety-
eight English members elected by consituencies under
five hundred.

That in Wales there are three boroughs, each re-
turning one member to Parliament, with less than
500 electors. Indeed, they are all under 400 ; Beau-
maris, 315; Brecon, 330; Flint, 270.
That in Scotland there is one borough, Ayr, re-
turning one member, with 440 electors; and one
county, Bute, with 420 electors ; while another
county, Caithness, just exceeds the number 500,
having 528 registered electors.
Another Parliamentary return of registered electors
for Ireland, moved by Mr. Butler, shows us sixteen
boroughs, each returning one member, with less than
500 electors.

The result of the whole is, that 119 Members in
the United Kingdom are elected by constituencies
under 500. Of these 72 are Conservatives, and 47
Liberal Members. In England the proportion of the
Conservative Members to the Liberal Members for
small boroughs is larger, the numbers being 64 to 34.
In Ireland, where the Liberal party could only gain
by the enlargement of constituencies, there are 10
Liberal and 6 Conservative Members, for boroughs
with less than 500 electors.

Add to the Conservative majority in corrupt and
nomination boroughs, their majority in landlord-rid-
den counties ; and what would become of the Govern-
ment in the house of Commons, if voters were pro-
tected by the ballot, and constituences were uniformly
large enough to render bribery and nomination im-
practicable ?
There should
_be no constituency with less than

1,000 electors. It does not follow from establishing
a minimum of electors, that we should also establish
throughout the representation a uniform proportion
of Members to electors. If the thousand electors are
fit men to choose, and can choose freely, and are not
tempted to be corrupt, they may make as good a
choice as a constituency of 20,000 ; at any rate
the twenty thousand will not make twenty times
as good a choice. There would be no reason,
then, that the West Riding of Yorkshire, with its
thirty thousand electors, should be intrusted with
the choice of more than two members, because
another constituency, that does not exceed a thou-
sand, returns either one member or two mem-
bers. Other considerations would determine whe-
ther it should have one Member or two ; but its
choice of two members could be ,depended upon,
equally with its choice of one.
We regret that Mr. Duncombe has not had the op-
portunity, during the past session, of bringing forward
his motion for a Committee of inquiry into nomina-
tion boroughs. It will, we trust, be one of the very
first motions of the next session. The time is come
when, keeping clear of wild and impracticable schemes
of organic change, the Liberal party must look the
gyring defects of the present state of the representa-
tion in the face ; and without ballot, and with the pre-
sent number of nomination boroughs, neither can
corn-laws be repealed, nor justice to Ireland achieved,
nor any other object, in which the hopes of the great
bulk of the people are embarked, attained, unless by
some accident to which no statesman would trust, or
by the creation of a popular excitement which every
wise and honest statesman would do all in his power
to avert.—. Evening paper.

THE CHAMPIONSHIP OF THE THAMES.
THE SILVER SCULLS.

The great contest for the championship of the Thames
took place on Saturday, the result of which we hasten to
communicate to our sporting readers. It is unnecessary
for us to enter into any lengthened exordium on the sub-
ject of this great race, as those to whom it will be of any
interest must be acquainted with the fact of their having
been given for competition among gentlemen scullers.
The race was expected to be something approaching
to first-rate, from the well-known prowess of the two
gentlemen engaged in it. Mr. Chapman, who held this
honorary distinction in 183t1, 1842, and 1843; had in the
contest of each year exhibited such extraordinary
power and pluck as a sculler, that it required a rare
good man to dispossess him. Mr. Bumpstead, of the
Leander, the winner of the challengers' trial heat last
Monday, as his opponent on the present occasion, was a
person of no mean skill or ordinary game, as was evinced
by the fact of his having defeated all the best scullers
of the day, save Chapman, who was not a competitor, at
the Great Thames Regatta and at Henley. A good
race was, therefore, reckoned upon; but unfortunately it
was at such a time in the day as prevented many who
would willingly have subjected themselves to a trifling
nconvenience from witnessiug it.
Mr. Bishop officiated in lieu of Mr. Lewis, as
umpire ; and about half-past ten was rowed by a
crew of picked watermen to the starting place, followed
by the Leander, the Royal Academy, and other crack
clubs, and a considerable number of other gentlemen,
in boats of different denominations. Mr. Chapman won
the choice of station, and took the outside place, wo
presume from a feeling that there was more tide to be
found there.

The start was taken very evenly, and, after a few
strokes, Mr. Bumpstead gradually drew in advance, the
labour on the part of either gentlemen being beautiful.
Mr. Chapman, as they neared Lucas's-road, which they
passed outside of, made a plucky spurt to overhaul his
opponent, but the other putting the steam on at the same
moment no change took place. Mr. Bumpstead off the
Horseferry just contrived to draw his stern clear of his
opponent's head, and in rounding the point off the Peni-
tentiary, went further in advance. On entering the next
reach Chapman again made a powerful spurt, and the
other following his example, they went by the lead works
at a rattling speed, but Bumpstead having a clear lead
rae of
Putney-bridge the winner by half a minute. Both
of about four lengths: At Battersea, at Wandsworth.
and, indeed, to the very goal of victory, Chapman rowed
as fine a stern Wager as ever was seen, but was unable to
general
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the tdhem under
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tlemen appearcd"to have had enough of it.

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Governoi-Or Van Dieman's Lurid.
Mr. C. E. Ogden, and Sir Francis Cockburn had in-.
turviowts with Lord Stanley °a Saturday,