The Sun.
London, England, 1868-07-20 00:00:00

La' DO.V, MONDAY, JULY 20. 1838

In ca: sequcuez of the efforts wade on &Our,lay
at tile s.tting (f the Home of Commons the licibery
got through Counnittee It was inclec!(l

p:-etry clear that a nmruing sitting on Saturday
meant something significant, and hon. members
seemed to have accepted their fate, but they could
not make up their minds to forego a parting
struggle, and it wa3 not till five that the House
comi Iced its task, and then only by putting off
the ctisi.leration of many of the clauses until the
lloport be brought up. This is as well, fur had an
miliat.ted discussion been permitted there is no doubt
that some weeks might haire elapsed before a settle=
men t was effected. The Solicitor-General opposed the
clause that Sir R. GoLDsmID wished to introduce, to

t h 3 effect hat all Totes that were given to a c..iadi-
date found guilty cf blibc.ry shoal I be cooside:ed
as thrown away because of its extreme stringency .
Tile Committee acted wisely in rejecting the pro-
position, although it met with some influential sup-
porters, Mr. LowE, for one, declaring that it would
not be advisable to give the corrupt electors another
opportunity of repeating their offence, but it would
not be very easy to carry out the suggestion made
by the right hon. gentleman, to the effect that
if one-third of the electors were innocent of
bribery, they should be permitted to carry the re-
presentative. There was more force in the proposal
of Mr. KINGLAKE, to supplement the House by a
provision that no one should petition but the un-
successful candidate, and before that a preliminary
inquiry should settle if his side had been guilty of
bribery. The good of this would be that some one
who had an interest in the affair would take up the
matter, and it would not be concealed, as it too
often is now, through angry feeling and vexatious
influences. Mr. FAWCETT moved a motion,
to the effect that the expenses of the return-
ing officer should be defrayed out of the
county or borough rates, and no person t 3 be nomi-
nated unless he deposit a hundred pounds or some
fixed sum the day before the nomination wi:h the
returning officer. Mr. DisAAEni was against '
the clause, although he admitted that it de-
served attention, because he said very truly
that so many burdens have already been put upon
the poor-rates ; and another reason was that the
proposal was not relevant to the bill, which was
I specially meant to guard against corrupt practices,
and hence the equal payment of returning officers
had nothing to do with it. Mr GLADSTONE thought
that this scheme was a good one, and exerted him-
self to show its advisability. The Committee decided
in favour of the clause by a majority of nine. This
is a decision to be regretted, more especially on
account of the rates, which ought, as Mr. DISRAELI
said, to be allowed to lie fallow for a time. Mr.
GLADSTONE and his friends are so fond of taking.
the theoretical part of a question that they are very
apt to forget the practical portion of it, and we do
not expect that the ratepayers will thank them for
their sudden zeal, which they call a public duty, to
put obstacles out of the way of candidates.

In consequence of some representations that were
made, Mr. FAwcETT withdrew the proviso relating
to the deposit, and said that he would bring
up any other consideration on the report being
taken, and a good deal of conversation ensued re-
specting the effect that the clause would pro-
duce. Lord WlLrox said that, in Yorkshire, which
is Low divided into many parts, it was not fair
that the whole county should be charged for the
expenses of the election of one division ; and the
Solicitor-General, speaking of boroughs, explained
that the municipal boundaries were not always the
same as the Parliamentary ones, and the expenses
cannot be fairly divided in consequence of the
manner in which the rates are collected. Mr.
CLAY'S cause was next considered, and it is not
surprising that it was rejected by a ma-
jority cf forty, for it was one of a peculiar charac-
ter. It proposed that every member on taking his
seat should mAke a declaration that be was nut
privy to any corrupt or illegal practices, and if the
declaration should be proved false that he be sub-
ject to a penalty of five hundred pounds. This
apparently ingenious scheme met with the support
of Mr. MILL and others, who went so far as to say
that it was the best thing that could be done, and
indeed might represent the chief characteristics of the
bill. The Solicitor-General showed very plainly that
it would not answer the proposed ends, for those of
more sensitive minds would be the sufferers, and
tho:e who are resolved to carry out Cieir purpose
would continue to get out of the responsibility in
some way or other. Altogether the bill is now safe,
and may be looked upon as virtually passed, for the
Lords will not offer any opposition to it. The
Government deserve great credit for the manner in
which they have conducted this bill, and it must
be remembered that they have had many
and great obstacles to encounter ia re-
spect to it. Far back in the Session
it was received with faint approval, while more
recently we have heard over and over again that it
might be all very well in its way, but that it could
never answer, and besides it was too late to press
it. Despite all these taunts and sarcasms, it has
been so far advanced that it seems now a fact, and
not a fiction, and this desirable attainment.is due
to the determination and perseverance of those who
had charge of it. It seems a fitting thing that, on
the eve of a general election, the House should make
some protest against the obnoxious practice of
bribery and corruption, which has long been a stigma
on our political representatives.
To-night the Metropolitan Cattle Market Bill
will again engage the attention of Parliament, and
it is to be hoped that it will share the same success
that has attended the Bribery Bill. In order that
this should be allowed, it would be well if the
Government took a decided tone from the first, and
declared that the vexatious hindrances interposed
tl e other night would not, if repeated, be permitted
to seal the fate of the measure, for that they would
persevere with it at any cost. We should hope that
the extraordinary exhibition of factious
manoeuvring that took place on Thursday had satis-
fied those who took a prominent part in it, and at
any rate the comments that have been made upon
it in all quarters since have shown them how it
was appreciated and justly condemned. To settle
a thing one way or another on the merits of the
particular measure before the House is very well,
but to proceed to expedients is always out of cha-
racter with an assembly like the House of Corn-
No doubt common sense will come to the
rescue, as it has often done before, and to-night
will, in all probability, see the committee through
its lao.irs. No valid reason has as yet been ad-
duced against the measure, and its opponents rest
their arguments entirely on prejudice.

Mona.

Although the moribund Parliament has yet a
brief lease of life remaining preparations for the
great electioneering campaign have already com-
menced. Intending candidates are determined to
lose no time in putting themselves forward, and
preliminary meetings are being held, speeches de-
livered, and all the usual antecedents of a general
election are at work. Tha new members that would
be have this advantage over the of l members, that
the latter are detained in London by the heavy
arrears of the incomplete duties of the session, and
accordingly their rivals secure. the first word for
themselves by putting their views and intentions in
the most; favourable light b,fore the new electors.
Those defeated at the last election are encouraged
by the introduction of a new element to try their
luck again. Among these several addresses we
occasionally meet with one which agurs well for the
independence and ability of the speaker, and such
is the case with the political confession of faith of
Mr. Worms, an intending candidate for Sandwich.
This gentleman went briefly over the topics of
.the
day, and separated the intrinsic merits of the disputed
questions from their political to significance in a
manner not likely to be very welcome to some of
our party leaders. It was, he remarked, a little
singular that Mr. GLADSTONE'S sudden energy re-
specting the disestablishment of the Irish Church